Ranma 1/2; 'Easy Target'
by WFROSE
Summary: Years down the line, Ranma ends up an elite hitman for the Asian Mob. Inspired by the motion picture 'The Big Hit' (Ranma, John Woo style!) 'Making of Easy Target' added, plus preview of the prequal 'Dirty Shot'
1. Part 1

Inspired by the motion picture 'The Big Hit'  
Ranma 1/2  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
  
"Special delivery from the Happy Riding Texas!" A cute and perky voice called to the servant's door. A burly Korean man opened it a crack.  
  
"Who for?"  
  
"Uhhhhh...." the redhead seemed to think, the door guard could almost see the wheels in her head, "Huei Jun Pa?"  
  
The man's eyes narrowed before replying, "He didn't request any whores today."  
  
"Oh! They said it was an emergency!" The redhead wearing the tight green leather petticoat and miniskirt with a black blouse replied frantically.  
  
The man snorted, "I see... I haven't been told of any 'emergencies', so you won't mind having to wait to get this cleared?"  
  
The redhead looked around nervously, and leaned in closer to the door, "Well, you didn't hear this from me, but he has the worst case of blue balls..."  
  
"Is that so?"  
  
"Absolutely!" The prostitute chirped up, "You know he's not gonna like you ask'n about it, but you ain't hear'n this from me."  
  
"On my mother's grave," The man's eyes turned further into slits, this just had to be another down on her luck whore trying to get in to get herself a sugar daddy.  
  
"And you don't wanna hold me up, his genitals can explode!" The woman then gestured a massive explosion, intending to explain the severity of the situation.  
  
"That would be tragic..."  
  
The redhead gave a huff of exasperation, obviously the man didn't believe her story, she should had come up with a better lie, "Well, if you need to clear it with Mr. Huei, Can I at least go to a comfy waiting room, it's kinda cold out here!"  
  
The prostitute noted the stalky man's eye's travel down to bust level, his face lighting up with a smirk, "I can see that."  
  
Rolling her eyes, she asked again, "So a kind man like you will let me come in and warm my petite, luscious body?"  
  
The man grinned, and opened the door more. She wasn't getting anywhere near the boss man, especially with the important meeting he was in, but the door guard was due for a break himself, and it just seemed like he found the ample opportunity to pass the time.  
  
"So, what's your name, cutie?"  
  
"Tee hee, it's...." The redhead stalled, she hadn't made it this far in her planning, "Uh, Nabiki."  
  
"Heh, you look like a 'Nabiki' to me," the Korean man smirked, while getting eye rolls from the three other sentries in business suits that were standing in the long corridor of the entrance, "Nabiki means 'Tight Little Box' in Japanese, right?"  
  
"I guess..." the redheaded woman gave a lecherous smile. Not five paces from the door, an alarm went off.  
  
"Oh, looks like we're gonna have to search ya," the Korean man stated with a leer, his comment got the other three guards' interests, "Why don't you strip down and... we'll forgo the gloves for your comfort." He wiggled his eyebrows meaningfully with the comment.  
  
Ranma-chan looked up at the siren, and then quickly reached up behind her petticoat. She quickly withdrew her hands, each one holding something spinning like a buzz saw. She stopped her custom made daggers in a reverse grip, and used the right one to stab the guard that had let her in and was standing by her right side.  
  
The other three guards were quick to immobilize after seeing the lead door guard stabbed to death, and reached for their guns. Before they got their rounds off, Ranma pulled the body of the first man in front of her and used it to shield her from the bullets. She turned around and put her back against the dancing corpse to support it, and reached her hand into her cleavage to pull out a cylindrical object about the size of her fist. She tossed it overhead, and heard the shattering sound it made. She counted to seven, and then moved out from behind the body that was now just sculpted hamburger, and dove into the smoke. Whirling blades were heard, closely followed by screams of three soon to be deceased men.  
  
Three more men arrived, and without giving warning, fired into the smoke.  
  
Each man exhausted all fifteen rounds in their clips, and then released the clips and reloaded. After a few seconds of silence and waiting for anything to emerge, one man spoke up, "We get her?"  
  
His question was answered by a redhead rolling in a fast tumble on the ground towards them. She sprung into the air with the right hand drawn far back with the dagger held in a reverse grip. Ranma drove the blade right through his chest, splitting it open from the clavicle to the sternum, and quickly kicked to her right, catching second guy in the head and trapping it against the wall, while her left hand punched the third guy away about six feet sliding on his back.  
  
Ranma didn't remove her right foot from the guy's head she had pinned, but instead twisted her torso so her face was facing to the ceiling, which caused her heel to grind into the side of his face, bent back while bracing her hands against the opposite side of the corridor, and brought her other leg up so she was parallel with the floor. Bringing her left knee to her face, Ranma shot her left leg towards the guy's neck, earning a satisfying 'crack'.  
  
The third man recovered and drew his gun again. Ranma-chan saw this, and dropped to the ground spinning like a yo-yo unwinding from a string, and landed on her side. A loud bang like heavy steel striking heavy steel sounded, and the remaining man dropped.  
  
Onna-Ranma kicked herself to her feet, spinning her left hand to blow out the smoke coming from the little hole that was in the hilt that opened up towards the blade.   
  
Ranma braced herself against the side of the wall as she made way down the corridor. When she got to the exit, she was met with several armed men. As they took aim, she quickly pulled out something that looked like a reflector for a bike. A brilliant flash blinded all dozen gunmen, causing them to panic and open fire. The Redhead was already on the move when the flash went off, strafing to her right as quickly and silently as possible. She became a human whirligig that cut a bloody swath through small troop, quickly dealing with the obstacles so that she may get back to her mission before it was too late.  
______________________________  
  
"So, now I am certain you see why a collaboration on each of our parts would prove most beneficial. Opening exchange through North Korea to China would give us smaller houses power over the North Korean families..." Huei Jun Pa paused, and gave a terse glare to the nervous man that approached him and whispered into his ear, "You mean to tell me that a whore is running through your best trained men? I find that unacceptable. She will be stopped before reaching this room, is that clear? I do not want any more distractions." The man slowly nodded, and went to his task.  
______________________________  
  
Ranma dodged to the outside of the man's right punch, and drove her right blade into the tough's back in the kidneys. Ranma then wove back under his arm, and used the leverage she had on him to trip him onto his side, where she then slashed her left hand's dagger across his throat.  
  
Ranma then spun around, griping the blades in the standard grip, and began to pull the triggers that were on the sides of the hilts. The redhead unloaded the clips of both dagger guns, before moving behind a wall for protection.  
  
"Squeaky," Ranma called into her headset, "HEY, SQUEAKY!"  
  
"Yeah, Ranma?" the other voice answered, sounding a bit preoccupied.  
  
"I'm getting pinned here, need you to circle around to the east side, and lay a short strafe, then pull out."  
  
"Uh, can't right now, guards posted on east. Uh, hope you don't need it too bad. Wish you best of luck!"  
_____________________________  
  
Squeaky cut the communication, and turned back to the woman sitting next to him at the bar, "That is pretty neat, can you show me how to tie a cherry stem with your tongue again?"  
_____________________________  
  
"WHAT?!?" Ranma screeched, "Squeaky, SQUEAKY!!!!" The redhead cursed at the line going dead, and released the spent clips from her weapons, and lifted up her short skirt. In each garter belt she wore high onto her thighs, were five clips of ammo; without removing the clips, Ranma shoved the hilt of her daggers into each garter, reloading them.  
  
Ranma-chan then pulled out another cylinder from her cleavage, and slid it out into the hall on the floor.  
  
The guards were thrown into chaos at the explosion, and Ranma moved in to take advantage. The redhead ran in, methodically taking aim at anyone who seemed to get their bearings straight. Each shot she made hit dead on target, while anyone who was unfortunate to be close enough to her met with the daggers she wielded skillfully.  
  
Thrashing out with her right leg for a back kick that caught one guy in the groin, her left hand flashed out at another man's neck, cutting it the blade spinning like a buzz saw. After dealing with him, Ranma brought her leg down and her left weapon towards the guy rolling in agony on the ground, and sent one shot into his dome.  
  
Ranma suddenly swept out with her right leg, catching the ankle of a guy bearing down on her with a fire ax. She used her left dagger to block the head of the ax at its base at the handle, and the second dagger to sever it from the handle. Ranma then used her left dagger to fling the ax head at another one of the guards, allowing him to catch the edge right in the forehead. Before even knowing the projectile would connect, Ranma turned around and jammed her right dagger into the tripped ax wielder's chest.  
  
Ranma made the prudent decision to move on, as she heard the footsteps and yells of many more men about to arrive. But before she left, she turned and looked at the mass carnage she had left.  
  
"Damn," Ranma-chan voiced, rather impressed with herself.  
______________________________  
  
"STOP HER! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SO INCOMPOTENT?" Mr. Huei growled, trying to placate the five other important men in the room that everything will be under control in a short time. His underling was about to answer, right when the door exploded inward.  
  
Ranma slid into the room on her back, shooting at anything that moved for her. The redhead came to an end to her slide, and split her legs, then scissored them into a twist that kicked her back upright. With ease, Ranma gave one shot to each minor crime boss and their bodyguards.   
  
Ranma looked around in satisfaction, this hit went off easier than she thought.  
  
"ICE THE BITCH!!! SHE'S IN THERE!!!!"  
  
Ranma-chan did a double take to the door, there was now an army heading towards her. Without precaution, she leapt through the window of the third story. As she was falling, she turned and tossed one last cylinder into the shattered window.  
  
Ranma hit the ground on her back, and rolled herself back to her feet and ran like hell, dodging the flaming debris that was blown out of the building. She ran, not even bothering to return fire to any of the guards, only concerned with making her escape. In a single bound, Ranma leapt over the gate, and growled when she didn't find the getaway vehicle in the place it should have been.  
  
She turned and saw several dozen men heading around the corner for her, and then she turned to the deep canal that ran on the side of the road by the mansion.  
  
Ranma shook her hands once, and between each finger appeared several small capsules that looked similar to the larger explosive ones she used in the mansion. Ranma ran backwards, tossed them at her pursuers, and then dove backwards into the canal.  
  
The Gunmen that didn't get caught in the multiple explosions and made their way out the smoke, fired indiscriminately into the murky waters. 


	2. Part 2

Ranma 1/2 /The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
"There you go, Ranma, the money is on the table for you there," The blond man with the Austrian accent, "I must say, you did a splendid job too. Our contractors were quite happy with your work. For that I also included a bonus," Richter continued to prune his lovely and exotic flowers.  
  
"Thanks," Ranma replied cheerfully, taking the pile of cash left on the table for him, "pretty generous of you."  
  
Richter paused, and turned to face Ranma, "Ranma, my friend, you have been with me for two years now. Though I do not completely condone your selective killing..."  
  
"Hey, I only kill the bad guys," Ranma interrupted.  
  
Richter shook his head in mirth, "I do not completely condone it, but I understand it. What I was about to say is that you have always carried out your tasks with par excellence. Not in that time have you ever made any requests, or raised the price offered." The blond man patted Ranma on the back, "You're probably my most trusted in my employment." Ranma gave his boss a grin, and nodded before turning to walk out the room. The Austrian gave a smirk, before returning to pruning his precious plants.  
_______________________________________  
  
"I'm still not talk'n to you, Squeaky," Ranma growled, walking by the short, slick haired Taiwanese man wearing a burgundy business suit with a black shirt.  
  
"Comon, you stirred up the whole hornet's nest, there was no way I could stay around!"  
  
"Ya coulda told me you were leaving me stranded!" Ranma snapped back in return.  
  
"It was in the heat of the moment!" Squeaky defended.  
  
"Anyway, here's your cut," Ranma stated, and handed his partner a share.  
  
"Hey, waitaminute, didn't you get a bonus?" The Tai-man narrowed his eyes. Ranma glared at him, and then grumbled sourly as he handed a bit more money over.  
  
"Heh, thanks Ranma, you'd never cheat a partner!"  
  
"No, but I would shoot one in the back," Ranma stated coldly, and then started to walk off.  
  
"I know you don't mean that," Squeaky stated factually, "Hey, you one for Saturday night? Going to the Jolly Giddy-Up Texas."  
  
"I already told you I ain't into that shit," Ranma replied tiredly.  
  
"Oh yeah, you're your own show, huh?" The well dressed man replied with a smirk, "Really, you're gonna have to let me watch one day, I bet you put on one hell of an Exibitio..."  
  
::Ka-click::  
  
"You were expressing interest in something?" Ranma had his head bent down, though you could see his left eyebrow twitching as he held his gun dagger up to his partner's forehead.  
  
"Ah... heh heh, seems to have slipped my mind..."  
  
"Good," Ranma retracted his weapon, spinning it in his palm as he kept his finger in the trigger hold, before holstering it into his back, "Just keep silly things out of your mind, or I'll have to carve 'em outta ya."  
  
"Er, right. Until next job... I guess." Ranma gave his partner a disgusted look, and walked to the elevator.  
_______________________________________  
  
Ranma pulled his McLaren 2001 model convertible into the driveway, and stepped out of the vehicle.  
  
"Mr. Saotome, when you going to let me drive that phat ass Roadie?  
  
"Maybe when you can shave," Ranma answered back factually.  
  
"That jipps! You know my family don't grow facial hair!" The twenty-year-old man with no facial hair exclaimed in irritation. Ranma shrugged, and walked to his mailbox to retrieve his mail. Once he retrieved the stack of envelopes, he walked back into the house.  
  
Ranma stopped by the hall table, and pressed the button on his answering machine.  
  
::Bleep::  
  
"Ey, Ranma, now that you've gotten some time to calm down, you sure you won't gimme that show?" Ranma made a mental note to castrate Squeaky.  
  
::Bleep::  
  
"Yo, we still on for that spar, man? It's been a while, you know? And I know you're pretty rusty, you know? Call me back when you can, m'kay?"  
  
::Bleep::  
  
"Hey, Yohiko, we're going to need you for that dinner party. So please, *please*, do not be late!"  
  
::Bleep::  
  
"Hello Yohiko? This is the mistress fashions line, wondering if you'd.." Ranma walked back to the answering machine, and skipped it to the next message.  
  
::Bleep::  
  
"Yohiko? I bet that worthless husband of yours isn't at home, satisfying your needs. Girl, I just don't understand why you put up with him, he really does seem like a jerk!" Ranma jolted at his best lady friend's comment, "Well, if he's worth anything, it's spending his money, wanna take me shopping today? Call me when you get home! Ciao, babe."  
  
::Bleep::  
  
"Ranma," the man in question raised an eyebrow, and swatted his long braided tail from his shoulder, "Got another job for you. Don't worry about going to Richter about it, I got the details for ya and he's going to be on hiatus for a couple of days. This one's gonna really pay off, and it's tailor made just for you."  
  
::Bleep::  
  
"There are... no... messages... left."  
  
Ranma went to the sink, and grabbed himself a cup of water, and then upended it over his head. After the transformation, 'Yohiko' walked upstairs, holding the legs up of the slate pants that belonged to her 'husband' and went into her room.  
  
Ranma-chan changed out of the oversized mustard yellow polo shirt and slacks, and into tight custom cut jeans and scarlet button up shirt. After the quick change, she picked up the portable phone on the nightstand by her bed, and pressed the second speed dial.  
  
"Hey, Kim, I'll be around to pick you up in a half hour, and please quit calling my husband worthless, he's pretty sensitive about that."  
_______________________________________  
  
"I'm telling you, you need to get yourself a boyfriend," Ranma-chan told her best friend, "that way you'll shut up about my man."  
  
"Yeah, right, after the heartache I see you go through?" I'll rather die an old maid," Hyun Kim retorted.  
  
"Well, at least get yourself a good lay, pretty sure that'll change your attitude, hey, this looks nice," Yohiko replied, looking into one of the mall windows, "I'm pretty sure you current bed partner could use the rest."  
  
"Na, batteries can keep going for twelve hours, and it doesn't snore when it runs out of juice." the Korean woman replied with a devious smile, "It's a girl's best friend."  
  
"I thought diamonds were supposed to be."  
  
"Diamonds aren't nearly half as fun."  
  
"You're incorrigible," Yohiko shook her head, and ushered her friend to another store window.  
  
"My mother gave up years ago, you're the only resistance left!"  
  
Ranma turned around and grabbed her friend's shoulder, "Look, all I have to say, is do whatever makes you happy. Just follow your heart."  
  
Kim got a serious look on her face, that then changed back into her usual smirk, "How profound of you."  
  
"Years of living; you have to gain something from it."  
  
Both women went to enter the store they were looking into. They had reached the door, when it suddenly opened. A woman wearing a pale leather lavender trench coat carrying boxes stacked up to the top of her head almost bowled the two over.  
  
"Hey! Watch it!" Kim shouted, managing to catch her balance. Ranma-chan didn't make any retort, but noticed the woman's pale lavender and straightened hair that was just a couple shades darker than her trench coat.  
  
"Um, sorry," replied the woman, before continuing on her way, the boxes she was carrying still hindering her vision.  
  
"Some people," Kim stated in a huff, grabbing her friend's arm and dragging her.  
  
"Wait, that woman's hair color is pretty unusual, I wonder if it's natural," Ranma-chan stated with a little curiosity.  
  
"I'm pretty sure it's dyed."  
  
"No, she may be a Chinese Amazon, they have some weird hair colors."  
  
"Hmm, pot calling the kettle black, 'Red'?"  
  
Ranma dropped the line of conversation, "Oh stuff it, I want to try on that dress there."  
  
"THIEF!!!!!"  
  
Yohiko and Kim both jerked to the woman's cries, and saw a stalky young man with bleached blond hair with brown roots suddenly making a break for it once he realized he was caught.  
  
"Hey, he's heading this way," Kim announced, and took a Tae Kwon Doe stance.  
  
"Uh, I'll handle this, Kim," Ranma-chan stated with a hint of mirth in her voice.  
  
"Hey! I'm a martial artist, too!" The woman retorted, earning a blink from her friend.  
  
Yohiko shook out of the sudden flash of remembrance, and replied, "Four months of TKD hardly qualifies you to challenge thugs."  
  
"Well, at least let me get a kick in when you're done with him," Kim replied earnestly, Ranma-chan just shrugged as the thief approached her.  
  
Ranma calmly turned away, and brought her leg up into an ax kick. The young man, intending to bowl the shorter woman over, ended up running his face into her toes.  
  
"Show off..." Kim said with not a little hint of jealously. Ranma smiled back serenely.  
_______________________________________  
  
Lavender heard the cry behind her, but decided to ignore it. A common thug was none of her business, though she felt a bit of relief when the crowd's cheers sounded.  
  
"I guess it was taken care of, no skin off my back." The woman thought to herself.  
_______________________________________  
  
"So, it stands we're in position to overthrow Richter?" One man asked, sitting at a table with several others of his profession.  
  
"Yeah, and we got it set up to weed out anyone loyal to the Aussie bastard."  
  
"He's Austrian, not Australian," a bald shaven man replied calmly.  
  
"Who cares, he's gone in a little under a week. 


	3. Part 3

Ranma/ The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
  
"That was a bit of excitement, wasn't it, girlfriend?" Kim asked her shorter friend. Yohiko just shrugged, and continued to drive while bobbing her head to the M-Flo CD in the player.  
  
"It wasn't that big a deal, mall security would have had him before he even got down the escalator."  
  
"Nonetheless, it got my blood pump'n! You sure you gonna stay home and wait for that worthless spouse of yours and not hit the town with me?" Kim put on the bambi eyes in order to sway the redhead.  
  
"Heh, I'm a bit bushed from work and shopping, I'll take a rain check on that later, though."  
  
They pulled up to Kim's apartment building, and Ranma stopped to let her friend out, "I'll hold you to that then, catch you later, babe!" Ranma waved, and pulled away.  
  
Ranma waited until she was a block away, before pulling out her cell phone, and hitting the speed dial, "Hey, you contacted me about a job? You know I won't work without Mr. Straumhaus's permission. Oh, well play it for me then," Ranma-chan listened intently to the recording being played over the phone that was in her boss's voice. Apparently permission had been granted to his second to schedule high maintenance assignments.  
  
"Well, I guess I won't argue with that, I'll be there at quarter till. Alright, later." Ranma turned off onto the highway, and headed for the office district.  
________________________________  
  
"This, is it?" Ranma stated, non-plussed.  
  
"Yeah, it's a bit of an easy target. The contractor needs the low-end opposition out of the way before they make a big move on him. He had previously trusted them with a high-end operation, but apparently are commandeering it for their own ends, and seeking protection from a rival family. Not so much a big deal, just go in and make as much noise as possible, take out the heads if you feel like it, and make a few examples in case anyone else decided to cross them again."  
  
"Hmm, I could cut my fee down to just the gas money to get down there. If this place has as little security as you suggest, this is going to be a cinch." Ranma tossed the folder back onto the desk in front of her.  
  
"So, you're willing to take a pay cut?"  
  
"You're pretty stupid, aren't you?" Ranma replied with a half lidded gaze.  
  
"Heh, sure you ain't a real woman? You got enough spunk for a few of them."  
  
"Even if I was, I'd probably be a lesbian, with men like you around."  
  
"Hmph, frigid. Anyhow, you're up at the none-hour."  
________________________________  
  
"Squeaky, how's everything from where you see?" a now male Ranma asked into his headset.  
  
"Just as they said, little in the way of opposition, you could probably walk through the front door without worries." the slick haired Taiwanese overlooked the small office building with his enhanced night vision display.  
  
"That's cool, I think I'll be pretty with this one. You have the digital recorder going for this?"  
  
"Heh, already tapped into their security cameras. You're in luck, they shelled out some serious cash for them; high resolution color, I'd say S-Video quality."  
  
Ranma thought about that, that was some rather elaborate equipment for a small operation, "You got the soundtrack picked out?"  
  
"How about... 'Let's Groove Tonight', by Earth, Wind, and Fire... remixed?"  
  
"Hmm, not bad, got the music cued?"  
  
"Ready, Ranma, in five, four, three, two..."  
  
Ranma leaned back as the music started over his headset, and played over the building's intercom system, and tumbled backwards off the roof.  
  
"What... the?" The two befuddled guards posted at the door looked around in puzzlement, and then jolted at the sight of a man with a braided ponytail landing in a crouch in front of them.  
  
"Hi," Ranma said, as he brought his dagger guns spinning on his trigger fingers from his back holster, and then stopped them in standard grip. Ranma went to work once the music kicked in the bass.  
________________________________  
  
"What is this?" A pudgy man in a spa asked, looking at the intercom speakers playing old music remixed for modern dance.  
  
"Let's Groove Tonight," One guard standing watch over his employer.  
  
"You moron, I mean why is it playing over..." The man went silent at the sound of gunshots  
________________________________  
  
Ranma kicked the first guy in the ribs and then the head with two side snap kicks, and the kicked him away in the chest with a thrust kick, all with the right leg. The pony tailed man then brought his right dagger gun under his left armpit, and fired at the man taking aim from the side. Ranma then wind milled, and shot the man he had kicked away with the left weapon.  
  
Without looking, Ranma leapt into a spinning back kick, catching another man running at him with a set of escrima sticks in the jaw, with enough force to break his neck. The hit man bent backwards at the waist, dodging a bullet aimed for his torso, and before bending back up, returned two shot in the direction the bullet had come from; one shot landed in the chest, the second in the head.  
  
Ranma rolled into a backbend handspring in time to meet with another man that he could assess had some skills in martial arts.  
  
Ranma parried the first punch, and raised his right leg to block the left kick aimed at his ribs. The hit man then ducked forward for the second kick from the left side that was aimed for his head. The pony-tailed man slipped his left leg back, and braced his right hand onto the ground so it almost looked like he was in a one-handed runner's stance. Ranma then swung his left leg from behind to his right side, starting into gymnastics pommel horse routine. His opponent's momentum carried him all the way around, and as he was turned around, leapt to avoid the two swinging legs from tripping him, throwing a right reverse kick while still in the air.  
  
Ranma turned face down, and braced his hands onto the ground. Ranma then tumbled over onto his back, with his body folded at the waist in half, and aimed both his guns aimed towards his opponent.  
  
The other martial artist's body danced, as it was riddled with bullets from both clips, before it fell dead. Ranma kicked himself up by with his legs straightened; the empty clips falling to the ground as his dagger guns released them. Before he could reload, Ranma stood ramrod straight, and fired off to the side at one man taking aim with a mac, using the last bullet that was chambered in the barrel of his right without even turning to his would-be gunman.  
  
"[That was beautiful, man!!]" Squeaky's voice said over the headset. Ranma turned to one of the cameras and bowed.  
________________________________  
  
"WHY IN THE HELL IS HE ATTACKING US?!?" Mr. Vinci yelled, putting on a robe so that he could be escorted to a safer location, "GET ME MY DAMN CELL PHONE! NOW!"  
________________________________  
  
"Yes," Richter stated pleasantly, though he was most assuredly irritated by the call.  
  
"[I have a madman running through here and ruining things! Do you know anything about this?]"  
  
Richter shooed away the fourteen year old girl, giving the conversation his full attention, "Who is it?"  
  
"[I don't know who the hell he is, I just know that he's one of *YOUR* employees! It's the one with the braided ponytail!]" Richter growled, of all the times...  
  
"I decide to take a couple of days off, and, *sigh*, just get the hell out of there, we'll have you set up in another location, and I'll replace any of the men you lost for the inconvenience. I assure you, Ranma will be dealt with most harshly."  
  
Richter hung up the phone, and then dialed another number, one for emergencies, "Yes? I have a rogue."  
________________________________  
  
Ranma chuckled as he parried the man's sword easily with his daggers; spinning them around like he was fighting with disks. His opponent suddenly thrusted forward to stab Ranma in the stomach, and the pony tailed man turned to the side leaned forward, allowing the blade to pass by his back. Ranma then performed a sideways split kick, knocking the katana by the handle from the man's hands, and sending it flipping into the air.  
  
Before the other man could recover, Ranma leapt up, caught the sword's hilt against the front of his left knee, and the back of the blade with the back of his right ankle, and twisted when the blade was at the other man's neck level.  
  
"[Damn! I'm gonna HAVE to see that again!]"  
  
"Hey, hold on until I can watch it!" Ranma shouted into his headpiece, almost missing the sniper aiming for his chest.  
  
Ranma heard the gunshot, and felt everything go in slow motion. In less than a second, Ranma reversed the grips on his daggers, and punched his right fist out with the blade slightly angled. The sound of metal ricocheting off of metal signaled Ranma to twist his left side in, and punch at an angle with his left fist around his right in a bicycle motion, his dagger also aimed down to the ground but slanted at an angle. Once again metal connecting with metal triggered Ranma to twist his right side in, and punch close to his chest with his right dagger, almost flat with his chest. Ranma continued this until he turned the bullet back at the sniper.  
  
::T-T-T-T-TINK!!!::  
  
"[What did you do? What the HELL did you just do?]" Squeaky shouted excitedly over the headset. Ranma smirked and started back forward to continue his mission.  
________________________________  
  
The woman wearing a lavender bodysuit brought her partner, a woman in a black one-piece bathing suit with a scarlet diagonal strip down the chest the phone.  
  
"Here's an assignment for us," Lavender stated calmly, as she handed the phone to the woman lounging by the large indoor pool.  
  
"Good, our bank account was starting not to be able to keep up with your exorbant shopping sprees." Lavender had the good grace to blush.  
  
The woman in the bathing suit brushed her long raven-colored hair with scarlet tips from the side of her face where it completely covered it, and brought the phone to her ear, "Yeah?"  
  
A third woman with short chestnut hair, who had been swimming nude in pool, brought herself to the side, "It's about time we got another job, I was starting to get bored." Lavender shrugged in reply. The woman wearing the bathing suit hung up the phone with a grin.  
  
"We meet with Richter in the morning."  
  
"So, is this one going to be a good one, Scarlet?" The woman in the pool enquired.  
  
Scarlet smiled bigger, "One of his best operatives went rogue, this one will probably pay off but good."  
________________________________  
  
Ranma reached the balcony in time to see a limo pull away through the gate. The pigtailed boy shrugged. He was only assigned to make a little noise and be slightly high profile on this one, and he had to admit that he did his job well. 


	4. Part 4

Ranma/ The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
"One of your best, you mentioned?" Scarlet enquired, running her hands along her tight vinyl pants, as she uncrossed and re-crossed her legs.  
  
"One of my most trusted, I have my own ways of dealing with anyone who is under my employ, but he requires a special touch."  
  
"He's that good, hmm?" a woman with short cropped chestnut hair in a business suit that barely hid her feminine outline, came up to the chair that Scarlet was sitting in.  
  
"Indeed, as much as I trusted him, I cannot have any open ends in my house. I suppose you heard what happened in San Francisco?" The three girls nodded. Melvin Smiley managed to make a mess of things, "Good, here's his file."  
  
Scarlet picked up the folder that was tossed onto the desk, and opened it. Her breath caught at the photos, "Oh... my..."  
  
"Scarlet?" Lavender approached her partner, "What is it?"  
  
"Girls, let us thank Mr. Straumhaus for a very special Christmas he's giving us."  
  
"But it's only May..." Lavender was backslapped by Chef.  
  
"Ranma, Ranma Saotome," Scarlet let the name roll off her tongue lavishly, before dragging a fingernail delicately across the image.  
  
"You ladies know him?" Richter asked curiously.  
  
"Oh yeah, the Seven Fiancées know him well," Chef stated coldly, alluding to the origin of their group name.  
________________________________________  
::Bleep:: 'This is Ranma' ::Splash:: 'And Yohiko,' ::Splash:: 'We can't come to the phone right now, but,' ::Splash:: 'Leave your name and number and we'll get back to you.'  
  
"[Yohiko? Yohiko, please pick up the phone!]"  
  
Ranma rolled over in bed, and pushed a tuft of raven colored hair from his face, and mumbled, "Kim, I swear, if it's another 'I'll never find love' crisis..."  
  
"[I guess you've gone to work early,]" the message continued, "[Please, I need to talk to you, it's really important. I... I'll tell you later,]" Ranma knew enough not to pick up the phone in his male form, so let the message record. That also gave him the option to talk to her later, since he currently wasn't awake enough to have the mental capacity to deal with his best friend right now. He decided that he would feel better doing it after collecting his fee for last night's job.  
________________________________________  
  
Ranma looked around at the marble hall with various Roman style pillars, irritated. No one was at 'the Vault' to hand him his pay. He wasn't too familiar with protocol on receiving payment from there, since he usually received it directly from Richter. He hadn't had to deal with Richter's absence since his boss only took off work every once in three hears. He really enjoyed his job.  
  
"Hey! I ain't got all day!" The pony-tailed man yelled out for anyone's attention, he growled when he got no reply. He supposed that something may be wrong here, but he never had done this before.  
  
"Hmm, maybe it's not open today?" Ranma mused, and then weaved to the side. A flat object whistled by him, and stuck into the Plexiglas teller window, "What the..." He turned around to see a woman in a men's slate gray power suit cut slightly for a woman, carrying a whipping cane slung on her shoulder.  
  
"Hello, Saotome," Ranma turned again to the side, so see a woman stepping out from the side, wearing a black leather jacket, scarlet t-shirt, with tight vinyl pants that showed off her gorgeous legs. On her feet she wore a pair of menacing looking steel-toed boots. He couldn't see her face, as her hair was draped in front of her face, hiding it from view.  
  
"Uh, can I help you ladies with something?" Ranma asked curiously, if they wanted to get his attention, all they had to do was call out.  
  
"Yes, there is quite a bit you can help us with... airen."  
  
Ranma's eyes got realllllllll wide. "Uh, h-hi... Shampoo," Ranma managed to squeak out.  
  
"Aren't you happy to see us too?" The woman with the whipping cane asked coldly, as she took up a southern style pole stance with the weapon; holding it at an angle upwards from the waist at her side with her guiding hand forward.  
  
"The name's not Shampoo, you twit," Ranma turned to see the woman that had run into him at the mall yesterday.  
  
"Uh, Xian Pu?" Ranma ventured with a nervous grin. Lavender wasn't amused, as she pulled out two lavender-chrome plated Jericho 941s. Ranma could see from where he was standing that they were heavily modified, "Heh, I see you lightened your hair color a bit... heh, heh..."  
  
Ranma gulped as Lavender's facial expression never changed, "And... Ukyo?"  
  
Chef nodded, and started scooting forward slowly, still keeping her weapon ready  
  
"And that means... that," Ranma turned to the remaining woman, and ducked a gloved fist with steel armored knuckles. The missed punch went right through the half-foot thick Plexiglas window. Scarlet growled as she jerked her arm, dragging a gash through it.  
  
"Yeah, me," Scarlet growled, turning with a right roundhouse aimed for Ranma's head. The pony tailed man ducked under the blow, and rolled. Scarlet growled as she removed her lodged foot from the wall.  
  
"You guys aren't still mad, are you?" Ranma asked in his roll, his answer was a steady stream of ten bullets that forced him to roll.  
  
"Of course not, 'Airen'," Lavender sneered, pushing the trigger forward on her right gun, causing it to open it's handle hatch that hinged at the trigger. She brushed her trench coat from her side to reveal a series of gun clips, and scooped a clip up into her gun, and closed the hatch, "Just because you left me a homeless old maid, doesn't mean I lost any affection for you."  
  
"Oh, as long as you're not bitter," Ranma commented sarcastically and he sprung to his feet, "Wait a minute, I've been set up, haven't I?"  
  
The three approaching women face faulted, allowing Ranma to attempt a break for it. Chef recovered first, and lobbed three throwing daggers that cut off the pony-tailed man's escape. Ranma ducked and slid under the barrage, only to have to stop his momentum and Adidas windmill out of the way of a hail of bullets.  
  
Ranma got to his feet, and was forced to directly block Scarlet's right side thrust kick. The pony-tailed man was sent flying onto his back, sliding a good few yards. Scarlet's gotten quite a bit stronger. Ranma rolled out of the way of Scarlet's leaping pounce, and grimaced at the sound of marble shattering where his head once was. Scarlet and Ranma both recovered at the same time, though the woman was the aggressor.  
  
Ranma leapt over the mid level crescent kick and redirected the follow up outside crescent kick to the head. Scarlet kept spinning into a left handed back fist, which Ranma blocked with his left arm against at her wrist. Ranma shot arm over the black endowed woman, and trapped her arm under his armpit, allowing him to shove her away then with an open palm blow to her upper ribs in the back. Scarlet started to fly back, but not before catching Ranma in the jaw with a left rising ax kick, sending the pony tailed boy to the ground.  
  
"She kicks high," Ranma said with a slightly giddy mirth, before he had to roll backwards from a horizontal blow of a whipping cane. Ranma rolled into a backhand spring, and kept back flipping as Chef twirled her weapon from side to side after her target. Ranma somersaulted away, pulling out his dagger guns as he was in the air.  
  
Ranma reversed the grip on his left gun and blocked Chef's strike to his right temple with it. The short haired woman spun around the other way, attempting to catch Ranma in the nose with the other end, in which the pony tailed man bent backwards to avoid. The woman spun the staff on the same side and stabbed forward with the same end at her opponent's clavicle. Ranma brought his right dagger in a reverse grip across his throat got block, but was surprised as Chef at the last moment jerked the whipping cane upwards, catching Ranma in the nose.  
  
The Pony tailed man launched himself backwards, lest his nose get pushed into his brain from the kill shot. Chef built up momentum for the next blow by twirling her staff from one side to the other, and then spinning backwards to her right, bringing the whipping cane down in a heavy strike. Ranma went into an Adidas windmill, managing to catch the cane with the side of his right foot, and as he overturned onto his right side, kicked out with his left foot and pushed his opponent away.  
  
As Chef stumbled back, Ranma kicked himself to his feet, and then bent backwards from Lavender's trench coat that flowered out at stomach level. The Pony tailed man gulped as he saw its edge slice through a portion of one of the marble pillars. Ranma twisted out of the way of the lavender clad woman's follow-up descending ax kick, and attempted to kick her away with a back thrust kick. Lavender swung her right leg over it, and then her left to leap over Ranma's retaliatory strike; her left foot attempting to take off his head.  
  
Ranma bent his head down farther, and dropped to the ground with his hands braced on the floor. He twisted on the ground, and trapped Lavender's right leg between his ankles, and twisted again for a leg takedown. Lavender fell and twisted with the momentum, allowing her to scoot up and attempt to drive her left heal through the bottom of Ranma's jaw. The pony tailed man evaded by rolling to the side and recovering to his feet.  
  
As soon as he stood, he found himself on the receiving end of a right-handed gut punch that lifted him off the ground. Scarlet smirked, as she carried him on her fist three yards into the wall behind him. Ranma's back hit the wall, forcing the rest of the air out of him, but he managed to retain the right mind to duck under the woman's left hook that carved a deep furrow into the marble wall. Scarlet spit out the dust and marble debris that got in her face and distracted her to allow Ranma's right elbow to be driven into the side of her face.  
  
Ranma rolled against the wall to avoid Lavender's leaping left foot kick, and then ducked as she twisted backwards to her right while still in the air and brought the heel of the same leg after Ranma's head against the wall. Lavender landed, and spun, her coat once again billowing up, forcing Ranma to jump up and braced his back against the wall, and his feet against the pillar in front of him. From his position, he decked Lavender with the handle of his dagger gun, and kicked away Chef with his left leg as she attempted to strike him from that side.  
  
"RRRRAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!" Ranma yelped at Scarlet's growl, as she pushed hard against the pillar he was braced against, sending it tumbling forward, broken. The pony tailed fighter rolled out of the way of the heavy debris, and reached into his pocket.  
  
"STAND STILL AND FIGHT!" Scarlet screamed, kicking one of the heavy pieces out of the way and sending it flying at the scurrying man.  
  
Ranma ducked behind a pillar, the large piece of airborne marble striking against it and chipping off a part, "Just like when we used to spar, huh, Akane?"  
  
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!!" Scarlet yelled, charging her shoulder at the pillar Ranma was against. The pony tailed man moved from behind it as it shattered, and turned to the three women with his flash in his hand. Once the girls were blinded, he made a run for it.   
  
Ranma made it into the hall, and met up with four men wearing bulletproof vests with guns trained on him. Ranma leapt up and over the bullet hail, grabbed onto the ten-foot high ceiling and pulled himself flat against it. Before any of them could readjust their aim, Ranma dropped down to the floor flat on his back, his own guns firing off at the ceiling above them. The collapsing debris distracted them enough for Ranma to get in close and knock them out.  
  
By the time the Seven Fiancées recovered their vision, Ranma was long gone.  
  
"Dammit! How did he get by ALL the posted guards in the building?" Scarlet demanded, punching through a wall in frustration.  
  
"He probably used the Umisenken," Chef stated factually, folding up her whipping cane and storing it in the holder on her side, "We know he uses it, we know how to neutralize it."  
  
"Hey, Anyone seen Ranma around? He owes me..."Squeaky stopped as he looked around the vault, "God Damn, what happened here?"  
  
"Oh? You're looking for Ranma?" Scarlet asked sweetly, as she strode sensuously towards the sleazy looking Tai. Chef and Lavender grinned at each other. 


	5. Part 5

Ranma/ The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
  
Ranma-chan dropped the Umisenken technique as she leapt from the roof of the moving car. She wiped the water from her face as she jogged to her house, growling about her luck. She had to leave her car behind, since she was sure they were watching for it. Instead she hitched a few rides back.  
  
For some reason that eluded her, she was now targeted for a hit, and apparently it was serious enough to bring outside help for it. Of course, luck would be that it would be three of the people who would have sufficient motivation to make good on the contract, either the Gods loved making his life hell with coincidences, or it was intentional.  
  
The redhead woman adjusted the much larger clothes, since she was still wearing her 'husband's' wardrobe (his female side had grown a bit, but Ranma had definitely hit a growth spurt), She ran into her house to gather a few things before they discovered she may had went home. It was rather funny, she knew that the last place they would look was back at her home; after all, what idiot would do that when they know they have a contract on their head?  
  
Ranma quickly went upstairs to change clothes and pack for both her forms and collect the emergency cash she had stored away for emergencies. After that was done, she went to her walk-in closet, and leapt and rapped her knuckles on the roof of it, causing a swing down door that had a lead box attached to it full of gun ammo; she recovered the ammo, and loaded into the specially insulated portion of her suitcase to avoid detection on a somewhat thorough examination. She then recorded a quick message stating that her and her husband would be gone for an indefinite time on a business trip, and went back downstairs and into the garage to load her car with her luggage. As she got in, she hit the garage door opener so that she could pull out, unfortunately it didn't respond. The redhead grumbled, as she got out of the car, the garage door was jammed from the outside again; she really had to get that fixed.  
  
Ranma walked to the front door, and right into the barrel of a lavender Jericho 941.  
  
"See?" Lavender replied smugly to her cohorts, as she removed her lavender tinted Lennon glasses.  
  
"I can't believe the idiot would ACTUALLY come back home with a contract on their head," Chef rubbed her forehead in disbelief, and removed her own dark amber tinted aviator's glasses.  
  
"Well, this IS Ranma we're talking about," Scarlet said with resignation, as she was the last to remove her deep crimson reflective rectangular framed glasses. Lavender poked the gun into the shorter woman's chest, ushering Ranma to move backwards back into the house. Chef went around back, and collected Ranma's dagger guns, patted her down for further weapons, went back to join her associates.  
  
"You know? I think this may be the happiest day of my life?" Scarlet replied cheerfully, swiping the hair from the front of her face so Ranma-chan could get a better look at her ecstatic expression.  
  
"Huh? I thought that was when..." Lavender started, before she was back fisted in the forehead by Scarlet.  
  
"Uh..." Ranma-chan gulped, "Wou-would you like to sit down for some coffee? I have some nice blends."  
  
"Sure," Lavender replied.  
  
"Sounds good," Chef added in second.  
  
Scarlet closed her eyes in exasperation, "Guys, this isn't a pleasure meeting!" But then she let out a resigned sigh, "I guess a few minutes won't hurt."  
  
Ranma prepared the coffee, sweating slightly in nervousness from the gun that was still trained on him as the three girls indulged in idle chat.  
  
"Ranma really has a lovely place," Lavender replied, doing a peripheral scan of the décor.  
  
"Heh, um, th-thanks, Ranma stuttered."  
  
"Pretty modest," Chef replied in a slightly condescending tone.  
  
"I say we beat her to death," Scarlet stated casually. Ranma tensed at that, from the blows Akane was delivering in their previous fight...  
  
"You get carried away," Chef stated calmly, "May as well finish her quickly," she idly reached into her suit and fiddled with one of her throwing blades.  
  
"How about we talk about old times, how have you guys been doing for yourselves?" Ranma asked with a jovial nervousness. All three of the 7 Fiancées half glared at the redhead. Ranma gulped again as she served them the coffee, glad for the stalling she was managing to do. The three were pretty confident that they had this job wrapped, if she could only find a way to use it to her advantage.  
  
"Great java," Lavender complimented.  
  
"Thanks Shampoo," Ranma was quite proud of her coffee. The warm and fuzzy feeling was cut of by a slight clicking of her gun.  
  
"I told you, the name's Lavender." Lavender growled.  
  
"She's pretty touchy about that, Ranma," Scarlet replied, "What with her being kicked out of the Amazons because of you."  
  
"Hey! That wasn't my fault!" The redhead almost shouted back, at the stern looks the other three women were giving her, she calmed down, "and she didn't tell me what her name was until now anyway."  
  
"Oh, sorry." Lavender commented sheepishly.  
  
"We're spending too much time, let's just gun her down and get going," Chef stated coldly.  
  
"Could I have some cream, please?" Lavender asked politely. The doorbell rang a couple of times, drawing everyone's attention to the door.  
  
"Get it, and get rid of them," Scarlet commanded the redhead, "And we'll gun you and whoever's at the door if you try anything cute."  
  
Ranma nervously got up and walked to the door, as it was rang several more times frantically, "I'm coming, I'm coming, geez!" the redhead shouted out in irritation as she reached the door and opened it to a red eyed Kim, "Huh? Kim?"  
  
"Yo-Yohiko..." Kim sobbed, "I really need to talk to you..."  
  
"Uh, now's not a good time..." the Redhead started, just then Scarlet came up from behind.  
  
"Are you okay?" Scarlet asked in concern.  
  
"Uh, she's like this every so often," Ranma replied nervously.  
  
"Ranma, she looks horrible!" Chef stated with more emotion than she had given since Ranma had seen her again.  
  
"Huh? Ra-Ranma's here?" Kim looked around nervously.  
  
"No-no, just me, *Yohiko*, the redhead stated with emphasis, fortunately the girls caught on, "Kim, dear, is it okay if you come back another time?"  
  
"I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible," Scarlet stated cryptically, "Come on, dear, tell us what's wrong." With that, Kim was ushered into the front door and into the living room where they were originally sitting. Ranma continued standing and pacing nervously, she couldn't run off, for fear of what would happen to her best friend if she did kept her in place.  
  
Kim also continued to stand and was pacing, trying valiantly to hold back the tears, "I, I don't know if I should..."  
  
"Go on, we're all friends here," Scarlet replied in an empathic tone. Her two associates nodded.  
  
Given the extra strength in her resolve, the distraught woman turned towards Yohiko and started, "Well, I told you that I was going out last night, and I met this guy..."  
  
"And he took advantage of you?" Scarlet interrupted, the woman really did seem sweet, she would have to find the guy and beat him to death for upsetting her.  
  
"No, no, nothing like that," Kim sobbed, "I, I guess he was very attractive, but I couldn't, I just couldn't click with him, you know?"  
  
Yohiko nodded, mentally rolling her eyes; she had heard this many times before from her friend. The girl was extremely picky about her men, in fact, the redhead couldn't recall any moment the woman had a relationship that lasted more than a few weeks.  
  
Kim almost started to break down, before she felt Chef's comforting hand on her shoulder. The Korean woman smiled, and continued, "I... I'm just not going to find me the right man!"  
  
Yohiko was about ready to start her part of the conversation, the "don't get discouraged, all men are pigs until you've housebroken them; just look at how much effort she had to put into 'Ranma'."  
  
"Don't get discouraged, all men are pigs until you've housebroken them, just look how much effort I had to put into Ranma." The redhead replied sympathetically, earning confused looks from the other three girls in company. Now Kim would make a mirthful comment about her worthless 'husband', lighting the mood, and everything would be okay again. Well, except for the fact that she may die soon.  
  
"I... I don't know," Kim replied tiredly. Yohiko blinked, this wasn't part of the script, "It's just, it's just that..." The Korean woman finally succumbed to heavy sobbing into her hands.  
  
"You'll feel better if you continue," Scarlet stated, rubbing her hand on the small of the crying woman's back. Ranma-chan blinked again at the almost inaudible growls Lavender and Chef were giving off, as their eyes were also narrowed at watching Scarlet 'console' the other woman.  
  
Kim looked up in gratitude towards the taller woman, and turned back to Yohiko, "It's, well, I just... well..." Giving up in frustration, Kim quickly pulled Yohiko into a fierce and passionate kiss. Ranma blinked a third, and then a forth time, before she realized what was happening, and started to wave her arms frantically and screeching into the kiss. Kim moaned in appreciation at the vibrations that were being sent into her mouth.  
  
"RRRRRRAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAA" Scarlet growled; how dare the bitch take advantage of this woman in her time of crisis. Ranma whimpered into the kiss as out of the corner of her eye, Lavender started to take aim... 


	6. Part 6

Ranma/ The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
  
Ranma caught the angered flash in Lavender's eyes, as she took aim, and knew the same expression would be mirrored on Chef and Scarlet. Time began to slow down for the redhead.  
  
Kim quickly pulled her lips away from the smaller woman's, "Ranma? You said he wasn't here!" she exclaimed fearfully. The redhead went up on her tipsy-toes, and pressed her lips as hard as she could against her best friend's, forcing Kim to bend backwards.  
  
Ranma could have leisurely counted the heartbeats as everything went into slow motion. The redhead used Kim's momentum from bending backwards, and used her left arm to pull the woman to her left as she was falling backwards. In the same motion, the redhead reached into her cleavage, and pulled out a derringer-style handgun. While both Kim and Ranma were falling, Lavender was surprised, and forced to readjust her aim; at that moment, Ranma was aiming...  
  
The redhead continued the kiss as she fired, Lavender quickly pulled her gun back to retreat instead of continuing to adjust her aim, allowing the bullet from Ranma's gun to shatter through the coffee mug the woman in the trench coat had in her left hand.  
  
"HEY! I was going to finish that!"  
  
Ranma landed with her right arm cradling Kim's back so she didn't slam into the rug hard, and rolled her friend on top of her, so she could get an angle at Chef, and threw her one-round pistol at the shorthaired woman. The throwing knife Chef was about to pitch was knocked out of her hand.  
  
Kim stole another kiss from Ranma, exhaulted that her friend may indeed share her feelings. Ranma rolled them over again, and raised her left leg to kick away Scarlet's stomping foot, putting the woman off balance. The redhead then slipped her right leg in front of the black clothed woman's shin on her planted foot, and rolled onto her side with Kim laying beside her. The third assassin was sent tumbling chin-first into the cherry-wood near-chocolate marble tiled coffee table, smashing through it.  
  
Scarlet growled, and lashed out at Ranma before she could recover. The kick caught the redhead while she was rising, launching her into the slightly narrow hallway.  
  
"KILL THE BITCH!!!" Scarlet screeched, checking her lip for any blood. Chef snapped her whipping cane straight, twirled it around, and leapt at a still dazed Kim. Akane's steel toe on her boot blocked the blow from connecting with the Korean woman, "NOT HER! RANMA!!!!" Chef huffed, and circled around to the other end of the hallway.  
  
Scarlet groaned, and bent down to help Kim up, "Sorry about that, are you okay?" Kim blinked a few times as she came to.  
_________________________________________  
  
Ranma quickly got to her feet, and was met with Lavender's right side thrust kick. The redhead turned to the side and then ducked as her opponent twisted the kick into a hook. Ranma shifted to the other side of the hall, as Lavender grabbed the side of her trench coat, and swung it up at an angle. Ranma then was forced to duck, as her opponent continued the motion to twirl around, and slice with it horizontally. Ranma grimaced as it cut into the wall, thinking how much that was going to cost to repair. Her estimating was cut off, as she suddenly shifted to the right and pressed herself hard against wall, barely missing her forehead being shaved off. Ranma darted to the other side of the hall, as Lavender brought the edged coat back along the path it had traveled, and braced her right foot against the wall. Ranma leapt up at her opponent's head level, and turned down with her left foot to catch Lavender in the temple with her toes. As Lavender stumbled back, the redhead fell to the ground, facing away with her hands and left shin and knee braced on the ground, and lashed back with her right leg, sending the lavender haired woman flying back from the powerful kick.  
  
Ranma was forced to roll back from and handspring back into stance before a thin but hard staff crashed into her head.  
_________________________________________  
  
"We make six figure American a gig, the digit at the end depends on the quality of the hit," Scarlet said with a smirk, as she crossed her legs and put her arm on the backrest of the couch behind an agitated Kim.  
  
"That is... impressive," Kim stated, nervously glancing back towards the hallway as the sounds of combat continued.  
  
"Yup, we're some of the most sought after agents in this line of work, not that I like to brag or anything," Scarlet said smugly, as she suavely brushed a lock of hair from her face.  
_________________________________________  
  
Ranma frantically dodged and weaved from the striking tip of Chef's weapon, looking for an opening to exploit. Finally one came, as the woman in the business suit struck down for a vertical blow in with Ranma dodged to her right to evade. And before she could bring it back up, Ranma braced her right hand onto, arresting it's upward torque, and then rolled onto it almost weightlessly, delivering a double kick, first with the outside of the left foot, and then the inside of the right foot, to Chef's face. As the shorthaired woman was sent twisting away, Ranma landed, and was forced to scoot back a couple of feet from the edge of Lavender's razor sharp trench coat.  
_________________________________________  
  
"Go ahead, feel it! Pure muscle," Scarlet proclaimed proudly, as she flexed her arm opposite of Kim.  
  
"I guess you're pretty strong then," Kim said, still worried about the violence she was hearing not too far from her.  
  
"Yup, I can take a hit pretty good too, there aren't too many things that can take me down." Scarlet reclined back into the sofa, smug with the fact that the woman was starting to dig her, "HEY! HURRY UP IN THERE!" she turned back and shouted.  
  
"That's good... I guess."  
  
"Yeah, I have to be. Weapons are fun and all, but I prefer the intimacy of... hand to hand grappling," Scarlet stated, scooting herself just slightly closer to the Korean woman.  
_________________________________________  
  
Ranma trapped Chef's staff on the opposite wall with her right foot, and then brought the same leg back around, catching the woman in the jaw. Chef flowed with the momentum, intending to bring her whipping cane back around for a rising diagonal strike to the redhead's cute face, except Ranma kept her right leg in the air, and kicked against Chef's left shoulder, keeping her from turning completely around. Ranma's hands lashed out quickly, withdrawing her dagger guns from the woman's confiscation, spinning them on her fingers as she re-holstered them back into their rightful possession, and brought her right leg up again for a thrust kick into the small of Chef's back while still holding onto the handles of her dagger guns.  
  
Ranma unsheathed her weapons in time to parry the edge of Lavender's coat, causing sparks to fly about.  
_________________________________________  
  
"Can, can I ask you something, I don't mean to pry or anything," Kim questioned, and then winced at the sound of something expensive breaking.  
  
"Sure, what would you like to know?" Scarlet asked with a smirk, while bringing her hand slowly to the other woman's opposite shoulder.  
  
"Are you... a bull dyke? I don't mean to be offensive..."  
  
Scarlet's face lost its grin.  
_________________________________________  
  
Ranma frantically parried both women's weapons with her dagger guns, a metallic clang whenever she was warding off Lavender and her coat, a meaty 'thock' sound every time she traded returns with Chef and her whipping cane. Ranma was twisting to meet them, as they were almost taking turns for the strike; each one hoping to catch the redhead blind. Suddenly, both women started to twist to their rights; Lavender bringing her left foot up for an outside crescent kick, while Chef had her right foot originally in the back, so she brought it up for an inside crescent kick. Ranma dropped to kneeling, causing both kicks to pass over her as they just barely missed each other, with Chef's kick just slightly lower than her partner's. Both women kept twisting around, Chef bringing the tip of her thin staff towards the kneeling woman, while Lavender's trench coat billowed up.  
  
Before either could connect with their strikes, Ranma leapt straight up, and braced a foot on each wall in the splits. Both girls' eyes went wide as they managed to connect with each other slightly.  
  
"OW! Dammit! You cut my damn thumb wide open!" Chef screamed, cradling her finger that had a slice barely more than a paper cut.  
  
"Ow, ow, ow..." Lavender whimpered; shaking her hand to relieve some of the pain of her struck index finger. Ceasing the opportunity, Ranma dropped back to the ground, leapt and rebounded off the wall furthest from her, kicked Lavender hard in the head, ran along the other wall, and while she was still horizontal, drover her knee into the side of Chef's head. Ranma landed and didn't look back at the two unconscious women.  
_________________________________________  
  
"I'm not upset, the question just caught me off guard," Scarlet said, trying to hide the tone of her irritation from her voice, "You're pretty new to expressing your 'natural' self, so I'll give you that."  
  
"I.. are you going to kill me?" Kim finally asked, her eyes tearing up in fear.  
  
"Na, it would be a shame to waste a beautiful woman like you," Scarlet said as smooth as she possibly could.  
  
"Are... are you going to kill Yohiko?" Kim asked with just as much frightfulness.  
  
"Yeah, but don't worry your cute lil' face over it," the other woman replied, "you don't want wrinkles, now."  
  
Ranma-chan came sliding into the living room, and quickly turned towards the two women sitting rather close together on the sofa. Realizing that the redhead was victorious against her two associates, Scarlet quickly shot up and started to advance. Ranma quickly brought her right dagger gun to bear, and aimed it at her once fiancée.  
  
"Stop, Akane."  
  
"Why, Ranma, you wouldn't actually shoot your first love, would you?" Scarlet asked sweetly, slowly approaching the redhead. Ranma fired.  
  
"AH!" Scarlet with cradled her fist, and glared at the smaller woman.  
  
"Hmm, so they are as armored as I thought," Ranma mused to herself, and then gestured with her head for Kim to approach her. Ranma kept her gun trained on Akane as they made their way towards the garage. The redhead handed her friend the keys and told her to get in the car in the garage and start it; once she heard the engine running, made a dash for the car herself.  
  
Scarlet screamed in rage. 


	7. Part 7

Ranma/ The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
The garage door flew out, and slid along the ground, as Yohiko backed out as fast as possible. She skidded her McLaren in a 180, then sped by a jet black hummer with four foot diameter monster wheels and 'The 7 Fiancées' painted on the side, and down the street as the three former fiancées rushed out the front door and towards their vehicle.  
  
"Hmm, nice humvee," the redhead commented, sparing a glance backwards.  
  
"Uh, you have a gun?" Kim asked nervously.  
  
"Uh, yeah?" the short redhead sounded a bit nervous in her reply.  
  
"Then why didn't you shoot their tires out or something?"  
  
"Uh, good question," Yohiko replied with a nervous chuckle, "this chase thing is kinda new to me."  
  
"This is pretty cool!" Kim exclaimed while quickly buckling her seatbelt.  
  
"Yeah, I guess it is," the redhead replied cheerfully, and then pulled out a pair of amber tinted aviator's glasses for effect.  
  
"You know? We need some exiting chase music," Kim bubbled, "Your CD sleeve still in here?"  
  
"Under your seat."  
  
"What do you suggest?" Kim asked, cycling through the collection of CDs  
  
"M-Flo?"  
  
"Good, but too passive."  
  
"Ayumi Hamasaki?"  
  
"Too bubbly."  
  
"S.E.S.?"  
  
Kim just gave her best friend and romantic interest a flat stare.  
  
"Okay, okay, T.M. Revolution?"  
  
"Sounds good! How about 'Hot Limit'?"  
  
"Works for me."  
________________________________  
  
Akane sped down the street after their quarry, fuming as her partners nursed their injuries.  
  
"You came pretty close to making me need stitches," Chef growled, looking carefully over her thumb.  
  
"Oh, grow up, weakling!" Lavender shot back, as she tenderly padded her head with an ice pack, "I'm going to gouge out this side of Ranma's face if I'm bruised!"  
  
"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Scarlet yelled out, immediately cowing her associates, "I see that damn bitch up ahead..."  
  
The black hummer caught up with the cobalt blue McLaren. Yohiko looked back in concern, and then turned forward just in time to turn slightly to angle her vehicle between two intersecting cars. Both vehicles swerved and came to a stop, forcing the humvee en chase to drive over them, and launch into the air. It's heavy frame landed with a jolt, the heavy hydraulic shock absorbing most of the force. Lavender climbed up her seat and opened the top latch, causing a mounted mini-gun to also rise on the top of the vehicle's roof.  
  
"That... looks pretty dangerous..." Kim stated nervously, causing Yohiko to look into her rear view mirror.  
  
"SHIT! Hold onto something tight!" With that, Yohiko swerved to her left, and headed down another street. Their pursuers followed, causing Lavender to jolt to the side and lose her aim.  
  
The small convertible turned right as it reached the next intersection, and jumped slightly from the sharp turn.  
  
"Damn! Gentle!" Kim shouted, bracing her hands against the dashboard. The redhead dropped the clutch to third gear, and in a moments timing shifted back up to fifth, managing to recover her speed from the sharp turn.  
  
The redhead saw the woman manning the gun for the hummer tense to begin firing, and pulled to the side before the gun sounded; a steady stream of bullets just barely missed her back right tire.  
  
Both vehicles exited the suburbs, speeding into the more wooded areas. Ranma's McLaren's tires screamed at the slight peal they were forced into and then back the other way, fishtailing the backside to meander through the 'S' curve. Scarlet growled as she slammed into the cliff slide on side the road, forcing Lavender to jolt again and fire off into the air.  
  
Yohiko looked back, smirking, "Heh, that was easier than I thought..."  
  
"LOOK OUT!!!!" Screamed Kim, the redhead turned back around in time to swerve away from meeting another car head on, and ran up the side of the cliff they were driving alongside. They rode up the side of the wall, and launched sideways off it, causing their vehicle to tumble in the air in a barrel roll over the following car that was behind the one they just evaded. The McLaren landed with a meaty clunk, and Yohiko came to a stop.  
  
"My baby!!!" the redhead cooed in concern for her precious car.  
  
"HERE THEY COME AGAIN!" Kim shouted, pointing behind them at the speeding black vehicle. Both women could see the blood in all three of their pursuer's eyes. Ranma quickly went to neutral, revved up the engine, and quickly caught it at second gear, and then shifted to third and forth in a few seconds. Their idleness left them close to their chasers, and Lavender was taking careful aim at Yohiko's head with her handguns instead of the mini-gun.  
  
"Kim, I'm going to need you to keep your foot on the gas for me in a sec," the Redhead let go of the steering wheel, unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned forward to remove her dagger guns from her back inverted holsters, and stood up to turn and sit down on the windshield facing their pursuers with her weapons drawn. At that moment, Kim quickly brought her left foot over and onto the driver's side, pressing down hard on the gas.  
  
Kim stared up in awe, her body growing flush, as she watched her friend steer the vehicle with her left foot, while sitting on the glass and firing her guns at the windshield and tires of the humvee. Lavender ducked back under the roof while bullets were blazing, though Ranma didn't seem to be aiming for her so much as frightening her down.   
  
The redhead ran out of rounds in both her weapons, and released the spent clips, "Kim, can you reach in the glove compartment and pull out a couple more of these for me?" she asked, holding up one of the empty bullet clips while keeping an eye on the hummer that was starting to come uncomfortably close. Yohiko gulped at the maddened twitching expression on Scarlet's face, "Uh, hurry please, but no pressure."  
  
"These?" Kim pulled out a couple of clips for display.  
  
"The one with the smaller bullets, get me another one of those and toss them up here."  
  
"Okay," Kim obeyed and tossed them up to her friend.  
  
"Great throw," the redhead congratulated as she caught both objects in one hand, and reloaded her guns. Right as the hummer was about to smack into their bumper, the redhead assassin started shooting again at the windshield.  
  
This time, Scarlet wasn't deterred, as she slammed into the back of the vehicle, jolting Ranma into almost dropping one of her guns, but causing her left foot to slip on the steering wheel and causing the vehicle to veer to it's left. Their front left tire ran up the beginning of the guide rail where it sloped into the ground, causing the McLaren to ride a side wheelie.  
  
Kim screamed, while Yohiko adjusted to her situation by shifting to sit on the driver's side door, while still firing. While riding on its right side, the cobalt blue convertible slightly swerved from side to side while maintaining its balance. Ranma-chan managed to tag the driver's side side mirror, shattering it and sending some of its parts into the open window, causing Scarlet to flinch and back off.  
  
The McLaren fell back flat, causing Ranma to readjust her sitting. Looking up, she noted the top of the cliff side they were driving next to was littered with trees. The redhead leaned back over the windshield and onto the hood, her legs still dangling next to the steering wheel. She picked a target and began firing with careful aim.  
  
The large tree branch began to pulp at the base, and then finally separate from the tree, and tumble down the steep natural wall. The convertible passed under it just before it fell, landing on the hood of the hummer.  
  
Scarlet and Chef both squawked, as the hummer swerved to dislodge the obstacle, in turn causing them to slam against, and through the guide rail on the other side of the road.  
  
Ranma twisted down and back into the driver's seat after re-holstering her guns, and drove like nothing had just happened.  
  
"That... was the COOLEST thing I had ever seen!" Kim shouted, "That was INTENSE!" Yohiko gave her friend a light smirk, and turned her attention back to the road.  
  
"Geez, we should be like partners or something, we made a great team."  
  
"Maybe, but now I'm just gonna drop you off somewhere safe, before any other loonies come after me."  
  
"But, how will I know that you're safe?" Kim asked, a slight tremor in her voice that wasn't due to the excitement, "I mean, three psycho girls just tried to kill you!"  
  
Yohiko reached over and patted her friend on the shoulder, "I'll call ya, how about we go shopping after this is all over?" Yohiko gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Kim noticed this; Yohiko wasn't planning on coming back.  
  
"Stop the car," Kim replied calmly and quietly, attempting to hide the emotion in her voice.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"STOP THE DAMN CAR!" Kim now screamed, not turning to look at her redheaded friend. Yohiko frowned, but pulled over to the side and stopped the vehicle.  
  
"Okay, but we better hurry before someonNNNMPH!" Once again, the redhead was cut off by Kim's lips on hers. Not that she was enjoying it, but they were both women; Ranma may not have had too many qualms about it, but it would be kind of embarrassing out in public.  
  
Kim pulled away and stared Yohiko in the face, "You are not leaving me behind, you got that?"  
  
"Uh, Kim, I'm a married man, er, woman," Yohiko stated nervously, she was once again silenced by Kim's mouth against hers. This kissing thing was now becoming slightly annoying.  
  
"Your jerk of a husband obviously got you into this, since they were looking for him," Kim stated coldly, recalling how the three women that were previously in pursuit of them kept calling out his name, "Listen, leave him, you can be with me!"  
  
"Kim, I.... it's... it's kinda complicated," Yohiko stated nervously, trying not to meet the eyes of her friend, "You see, Ranma is.. well..." She sighed instead of continuing, and then looked up to meet Kim's concerned glare, "I'll explain later, okay?"  
  
Kim nodded in affirmation, and Yohiko started the care and drove off.  
________________________________  
  
Three disheveled women climbed up the side back onto the road, and tiredly flopped onto the ground. Scarlet caught sighed, and then pulled out a cell phone and pressed the speed-dial.  
  
"We need to go with plan 'B', ask this 'Squeaky' who Ranma's friend 'Kim' is for me, please." 


	8. Part 8

Ranma/ The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
  
Yohiko pulled into the apartment underground parking where Kim lived, the awkward silence between them fueling the tension. The redhead parked in Kim's assigned parking space and stopped the car. Kim silently got out of the car, and waited patiently for her best friend to follow. The redhead knew that the Korean woman was not going to let her go; Kim would have her answers.  
  
"Kim, dear, why do you have to make my life any more complicated?" With a sigh of resignation, Yohiko took her keys out of the ignition and stepped out, earning her a curt nod.  
  
"Kay, I guess I owe you some answers."  
  
"Damn straight! Who were those psychos? Where in the hell did you get weapons like those? How did you learn to drive like that? Why are they trying to kill you?"  
  
Yohiko raised a hand to stall the barrage of questions, "Um, it's pretty complex, and I don't think you really want the answers." The redhead took a step back from Kim's hard glare.  
  
"That's alright, Mrs. Saotome, you can tell me over tea in my apartment," Kim's eyes got narrower before she continued, "and you owe me the answers." Yohiko nodded slightly, and gestured for the other woman to lead the way.  
__________________________________________  
  
"It's all set up now? Good. Once he's in, I don't want him to be able to leave unless it's in a bag, or earn, or bucket," Scarlet hung up the cell phone, fuming intensely.  
  
"You're taking this too personally," Chef said calmly, flipping one of her throwing daggers through her fingers.  
  
"SHUT.... UP, JUST SHUT... THE FUCK... UP!" the first woman shouted, and then threw her cell phone against the wall in rage, the short haired woman's response to her partner's temper tantrum was to raise an eyebrow, while still toying with the blade in her hand.  
  
"How can we *not* take this personally?" Lavender growled, applying make-up to cover the slight bruising to her face, "We find our former fiancée, the one responsible for completely ruining our lives, living high here in Korea, turning up to irritate us like a bad... bad..."  
  
"Penny, American currency," Chef supplied helpfully, throwing her knife against the dartboard, and scoring a perfect bulls eye.  
  
"I mean LOOK what he did to my face!" Lavender gestured as she shouted, "I'm going to carve up the bitches face once I get a hold of him!"  
  
"I sincerely hope you're not talking about Ms. Hyun," Scarlet enquired with an edge in her voice.  
  
"What is it with you and Ranma's little toy, anyway?" Chef asked, pausing in her motion of pulling out another throwing knife.  
  
"She's NOT Ranma's damn toy! He's leading her on, that's what!"  
  
"Looked more like 'she' was leading her on," Lavender mumbled. The pale lavender tressed woman took a step back, as Scarlet's gaze found her.  
  
The muscular woman stepped up to her cohort, and lightly gripped Lavender's chin, "Hmm, it's not too bad, you really shouldn't obsess over it." The Chinese woman untensed when Scarlet bent around and kissed the bruised area, "There, do you feel better?" She cooed, and gave Lavender a brilliant smile.  
  
"I-I cut my finger!" Chef stated meekly, in contrast to her usual aloof and callous composure. Scarlet turned to her, smiled, and walked over to her and took the raised hand. Chef moaned in appreciation, as her partner lightly sucked on the fingertip.  
  
Lavender stared jealously, as Scarlet let go of the other woman's hand, patted her on the head, and then walked off from their living quarters.  
  
"Whore," Lavender growled.  
  
"Bitch," Chef retorted. Scarlet continued to walk, not quite out of earshot.  
  
"*Sigh*, children."  
__________________________________________  
  
Yohiko waited with her hands crossed, as Kim walked in with the tea. After serving her guest and herself, Kim reclined back into her light blush colored leather seat, "Now, what's going on?"  
  
"Well," Yohiko took a sip of her tea, "Hey, this is pretty good! New blend?"  
  
"Yeah, picked it up in this small shop."  
  
"Hmm, tastes a bit like Jasmine, except a bit mellow." Yohiko commented, taking a sniff of the brew.  
  
"Tibetan herbs and Jasmine, with a slight hint of orange."  
  
"How much did it cost?"  
  
"Oh, it was pretty cheap, lemme tell... QUIT STALLING!!!!!" Yohiko got a nervous grin, before setting her cup down.  
  
"Uh, heh heh, was worth a try..." the redhead took a deep breath before continuing, "Now, where should I start?"  
  
"How about at the reason why those trend-setting loonies were trying to gun us down with a damn cannon."  
  
"You're over-embellishing, it was only a mini-gun. I really should get going, they could be here any moment..." The woman stood up.  
  
"Sit."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," Yohiko quickly sat back down, and nervously grasped her tea with both hands.  
  
"Talk."  
  
"Well, I knew them from a few years back. We... didn't part on the best of terms."  
  
"No shit," Kim asked dryly.  
  
"If you're going to be sarcastic, I may as well leave," Yohiko stood up in a huff.  
  
"Sit."  
  
"Yes Ma'am." Yohiko sat back down, and once again nervously grasped her tea with both hands.  
  
"Why are they trying to kill you?"  
  
"I'm kinda uncomfortable talking about this, it's too painful," Yohiko attempted to drum up tears, unfortunately that was something she had lack of experience in. instead, she settled for covering her eyes in feigned pain.  
  
"Oh, Yohiko," Kim got out of her seat, and sat next to her friend on the sofa, and then patted her leg, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. And realize I care about you deeply, and won't think any less of you."  
  
"Yes you would," Yohiko sobbed.  
  
"Those, girlfriend, have to be the fakest tears I have ever heard, a real woman can do better than that!" Yohiko immediately stopped, with a wild and surprised look on her face.  
  
"I beg your pardon?"  
  
"So who are they? Old girlfriends?" Kim was pleased with her subtle needling, alluding to her friend's femininity obviously hit something on the mark, and the target was her sexual preference.  
  
"Um, you can say that," Yohiko replied quietly, looking nervously into her cup of rapidly cooling tea.  
  
"Hey, don't be embarrased. I didn't even know I wanted you until like just today."  
  
Yohiko nodded in appreciation, though she wasn't sure what her friend was talking about.  
  
"And don't worry, I'm not upset." Kim replied, trying to hold the elation from her voice. Her friend at least had a history of homosexual relationships, "H-how long have you known, er, known 'them'?"  
  
"Nine years, I used to be pretty close to Akane, she's the one calling herself 'Scarlet', but I kind of, ran out... on them."  
  
"Man, holding three women to yourself! Have you no shame?" Kim joked, attempting to lighten the mood.  
  
"HEY! IT AIN'T MY FAULT!" Kim blinked at the outburst.  
  
"Your speech took a turn for the worse, there." Kim commented.  
  
"I didn't want all them, they all wouldn't leave me alone, either. After a while, me and Akane decided we just wanted to be friends," Yohiko chuckled, "Well, I decided at least."  
  
"Then I gotta ask, if you were so into the girl, why are you married to a guy? A lousy one at that?" The million-dollar question.  
  
The redhead used all her restraint to keep from smashing the cup in her grip. "I really wish you wouldn't insult him like that," she stated in a strained voice.  
  
"Well, you ran out on the other girls, that doesn't strike me as the real reason they want to put a bullet in your head."  
  
"Well, I was kinda fianceed to all three of them."  
  
"Huh? I didn't think Japan allowed that," Kim replied curiously.  
  
"Allowed what?" Yohiko enquired, confused.  
  
"Same sex marriages."  
  
"Oh? OH! They don't!" Yohiko adamantly affirmed, "two of them were arranged by my parents, one I got from some funky law of her tribe."  
  
"That still doesn't explain things."  
  
"Well," Yohiko took a gulp of air, then steeled her resolve, "You see, Ranma, we're..."  
  
Kim rolled her eyes as the phone rang, "Hold that thought, I'll get rid of them."  
  
She walked over to pick up the phone, and almost shouted into it, "I'm aBOUT to have hot lesbian sex, so you better had a DAMN good reason for calling!" Yohiko sweat dropped.  
  
"I want to speak to Ranma," a hard female voice commanded.  
  
"You have the wrong number, the number is..."  
  
"He'll not be home, I know he's there."  
  
"Uh, Miss Scarlet, is that you?" Kim ventured, growing a bit nervous.  
  
"Yes it is!" The voice became extremely cheerful, "Is, um, Yomiko there?"  
  
"Yohiko?"  
  
"Yes, that's her, I need to speak to her, it's pretty important."  
  
"Why were you trying to gun her..." Kim found the phone yanked from her hand.  
  
"What do you want... Akane?" the redhead took satisfaction in the intense growl from the other end.  
  
"You know what I want, Ranma-dear, but at the moment, this isn't about me."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Your friend Mr. Squeaky is in a bit of a dilemma. You see, us three beautiful girls, and only one of him. I can't say he'll last long at all." Yohiko's face went pale and grim.  
  
"Is this a threat?"  
  
"Well, if we had another man at the party, I'm pretty sure we'll all have a great time! Won't we girls?" Yohiko heard Lavender's rather vocal reply.  
  
"Lavender's really looking forward to seeing you again, Saotome."  
  
"Where."  
  
"Why don't you swing by your home office here, at like sayyyyy, around a half hour?" Scarlet took the other woman's silence as affirmative, "Good! Don't disappoint us! Ranma-baby!"  
  
Yohiko almost slammed down the phone, and turned to look at Kim.  
  
"Yohiko, what...?"  
  
"I have to go," the redhead stated simply, and walked over to the couch where her large purse was. She pulled out a black t-shirt and black slacks.  
  
"Uh, what are you?" Kim went silent as her friend started stripping down in the living room. She blinked at her boxers.  
  
"I have an appointment to meet, I'll have to tell you the rest later."  
  
"Promise?" Kim asked with a slightly pleading voice.  
  
"Yeah, I do." Yohiko grabbed another cup and filled it with hot tea.  
  
"Why are you getting more..."  
  
Yohiko upended it over her head.  
__________________________________________  
  
Scarlet put the phone back on the cradle, smiling sinisterly, "Still as much a sap as ever, eh, Ranma?" 


	9. Section 1 of Part 9

Ranma/ The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
Ranma walk into the building, and paused, noting there was no heavy force waiting for him. Still weary, he crept down the hall with his dagger guns at ready. He got to the elevator with not so much as a single acknowledgement that he had been spotted, though he knew better, and found a note taped to it;  
  
"4th floor room 407, don't keep us waiting!"  
  
Ranma's eyes narrowed, and decided to take the stairs to the destined floor. Unfortunately, he found them locked. He backed up, and looked towards the elevator again, and made his decision. They went through too much trouble just to make an easy kill that way, so it's best not to disappoint them.  
____________________________  
  
Lavender leaned with her back against the wall and her eyes closed. She lazily opened them once she heard the door open. Ranma walked in and looked at the largesque room with several sizable business desks.  
  
"You're twenty minutes late," The woman in the trench coat stated casually, not turning to look towards the pony-tailed man.  
  
"Traffic was a bitch," Ranma replied back, "Where's the rest of you guys?"  
  
Lavender looked at Ranma from the side of her purple tinted Lennon glasses, before responding, "We decided to take you on all at once was not very sporting. So we drew straws to see who got to pick you apart first.  
  
"Gee, aren't you three so kind," Ranma replied dryly.  
  
"Not really, I think we all just wanted a chance to rip you apart ourselves, I got the lucky first draw," Lavender turned to look fully at the pony tailed man with an ice cold glare, "and I guarantee you will not get by me."  
  
"Confident, aren't ya," Ranma smirked, "If I do, by chance, how am I going to know where to go next?" Lavender reached into her coat, and pulled out an envelope to flash Ranma, and put it back in.  
  
The woman pushed herself off the wall, and brushed the side of her trench coat, revealing her two customized Jericho 941s, as if she were a cowboy from a western ready to draw. Ranma noted the action, and reached to the small of his back where his daggers were held upside down in his inverted holsters. He brought them to bear, spinning them by the trigger ring on his index fingers, and stopped the when he crossed them together.  
  
Lavender started to stride towards her opponent, pulling out her guns as she did so. As she was closing the distance, she started spinning them on her own trigger fingers. And once she was upon Ranma, she stopped spinning the one on her right hand to where she was only holding the gun by the trigger ring, cocked that hand back, and punched at Ranma with the top of the barrel  
____________________________  
  
Kim continued to stare into space, recalling what she had seen almost an hour ago. Yohiko had something important to tell her. They received a call from that weird psycho woman that tried to run them down in a tank earlier. Yohiko got mad, and told her that she had something to take care of. Yohiko started to strip in her living room, almost making Kim swoon. Yohiko turned into Ranma.  
  
Stop.  
  
Rewind.  
  
Play.  
  
Yohiko had something important to tell her. They received...  
  
Kim shook her head, finally derailing her train from the infinite loop it was placed on. Ranma was saying something to her; something about explaining everything to her later once everything was done.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED TO YOHIKO?!?" Kim screamed out, utterly confused at the sudden inversion of reality. The Korean woman decided that she needed to swing by her friend's house, and wait for her-HIM-HER-WHATEVER so she could receive some explanations.  
  
Kim grabbed the extra set of keys Yohiko gave her for times she had to house sit, and walked out of her apartment. She turned down the hall just in time to meet with a gorgeous guy with a brilliant smile.  
  
"Miss Hyun?"  
  
"What?" Kim snapped, irritated and confused.  
____________________________  
  
Ranma parried Lavender's attack with the butt of the dagger in his left hand to the inside, and punched at her with his other dagger butt to the face. The pale lavender tressed woman parried with her left hand and aimed her right gun at Ranma's left shoulder. Ranma quickly turned his shoulder away before the loud bang could sound, and brought his left elbow around and dropped it onto her wrist with the gun. The woman grimaced at the pain that came with the blow, and was forced to lower her gun away to the side. Ranma shot his fist gripping the dagger to the outside out to his opponent's nose. Lavender twisted back to her left with a calm and focused expression on her face, and as she did so, grabbed the left edge of her coat, and quickly sliced up with it. Ranma pulled back in time to receive only a slight cut along his cheek.  
  
"That's for bruising my face earlier," Growled Lavender, bringing both her guns to aim. Ranma back flipped away from the gunshots until Lavender stopped firing, it was apparent she wasn't actually trying to kill him just yet.  
  
"Would it help if I said 'sorry'?" Ranma enquired with slight mirth.  
  
"We're way beyond feeling sorry for each other, 'Airen'," Lavender replied temperamentally, and the struck a kung Fu pose reminiscent of Bruce Lee; a wide stance with her arms held out to her sides and palms up, her back hand was held a bit lower than the other. Ranma gave the woman a crooked smirk, and wiped his nose with his right index finger.  
  
The pony tailed man suddenly rushed forward, striking at the woman with the butt of his right dagger. She parried it to the outside with her left arm, and swung at Ranma with her other in a blade hand strike, while holding the edge of her trench coat. Ranma brought up his knee to block the strike from being able to go fully around, and as he set the leg back down, raised the other one quickly for an ax kick. Lavender spun away from the kick, and brought her right gun towards Ranma's head. The pony tailed man twisted quickly back to his left without dropping his leg from the kick, and swung out with his right hand to parry the gun away before the shot rang out. Ranma put his left leg down, and braced himself for the shot to his right open right.  
  
Lavender spun her left gun on her trigger finger as she recovered it from making a telling blow to Ranma's face. The pony-tailed man skidded several feet, and rammed his head into a desk. His opponent advanced upon him, and gripped the edge of her coat and swung it into a windmill strike. Ranma swung his left leg to his right, pulling his body away from the razor sharp edge. Lavender turned her right side to Ranma leapt, while twisting her body sideways, and brought the inside of her right foot towards her opponent's head. Ranma pulled his head to the right and his whole body away from the kick, and cart wheeled over the woman's planted leg.  
  
Ranma then spun into an outside crescent kick with his right foot, while Lavender spun the same direction opposing him with her right hand holding the bottom of the side of her coat. Ranma saw it in slow motion, as his kick barely missed her face, and her coat just sliced a nick of the man's pants. Ranma had spun to face Lavender before she made it all the way around, and leapt as she continued to spin with her trench coat billowing out.  
  
Ranma turned his body horizontally in the air with his knees tucked in, and lashed out with both his feet. Lavender rolled back with the blow, though still catching much of it, and dropped to a sweep, kicking the front legs out from the desk Ranma landed flat on his back on.  
  
The pony-tailed man wasn't able to do nothing, as the desk's edge slammed into the ground, causing him to slide a bit along with the desktop's contents. Lavender leapt with her body horizontal, and spun in the air to the left, causing her trench coat to billow out like a razor sharp fan.  
  
Ranma rolled off the desk to his right, just in time as his opponent cut it into two where his waist would have been. Recovering quickly, he turned back, and stabbed his left dagger gun into the coat, pinning it to the half of the desk with legs still on it.  
  
Lavender growled, and quickly shucked her coat before she could be retaliated against. Ranma was immediately upon her with two left snap kicks to her right side. The pale lavender haired woman countered with two snap kicks of her own with the same leg to Ranma's leg. Shampoo then retaliated by bringing her left gun to Ranma's stomach, in which Ranma used both hands to parry downward as quickly as possible. Ranma didn't have time to gulp, as the bullet just passed between his legs, when Lavender spun her right gun over Ranma's hands, bringing the butt of the handle into his chin. Ranma rolled with the blow into a back handspring, with both feet catching his opponent also in the chin. Lavender also rolled with the blow, and into a backbend, which she turned, into a backhand spring.  
  
"You've definitely gotten better," Ranma complimented, wiping the blood from his lip. Lavender didn't answer, instead choosing to attack. Ranma parried the kick to his chest and leapt at her with a forward snap kick. Lavender brushed the blow to the side, rolling along with it, and bringing her left gun to Ranma's right temple.  
  
The pony-tailed man smirked, and with amaguriken speed, brought his right hand up to trap the gun against his temple, his pinky finger trapping the hammer back so it could not release. Lavender's eyes went wide in surprise, while Ranma brought his right leg into her guard and started kicking. The woman's body started dancing with the blows, until she was jolted backwards and forced to let go of the gun. Ranma tossed the gun away, ignoring its discharge, and spin kicked her in the face, spinning her around once. Once Lavender made a full turn, he spun around the other direction with another crescent kick. The femme fatal spun the other way around, now fully dazed from the blow, and Ranma grunted with the effort, leaping into the air, and spin kicking back in the first direction, driving his heel into the woman's jaw.  
  
With a crunch, Lavender spun into the air like a flying top, and crumpled to the ground some distance away. Ranma landed firmly, swaying slightly in a Capoeira Ginga dance to adjust his balance.  
  
Satisfied that the woman was definitely going to be unconscious for a while, he walked over to her trench coat and removed his dagger gun, and the envelope telling of his next destination.  
  
"Congrates, Seventh floor, room 700. Hurry up now!" 


	10. Section 2 of Part 9

Ranma/ The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
  
Chef sat in a training or seminar room full of school desks waiting for her advisory to arrive with her cell phone to her ear.   
  
"[Just as we guessed,]" Scarlet stated over the cell phone, "[He's disappeared, but he should be there relatively soon.]"  
  
Chef grunted in affirmative, and then put her cell phone on the desk, and pulled out a lighter, "Ranma, I know you're in here." She pursed her lips when she received no reply, "It's not going to help you this time."  
  
When she was only met with silence, Chef leapt onto a desk, and put the lighter to one of the sprinklers. She gave a ghost of a smirk when she noted the drenched redhead.  
  
"How'd you find out?" Ranma asked, wiping the water from her face. Chef kept silent, with her expression neutral, as she retrieved her whipping staff from where it was leaning against the wall and started to twirl it idly.  
  
"Not very talkative, I see." Ranma was suddenly forced to quickly unsheathe her dagger guns to parry the woman's sudden strike.  
  
The two fighters traded off attacks at a frantic but controlled pace. Chef leapt back while attempting to deliver an overhead strike in which Ranma shifted to the side to avoid. From her kneeling position, the shorthaired woman quickly swung the staff at Ranma's outer knee, forcing the redhead to lift her leg to avoid the blow. Chef then twisted back, while bringing the staff back up for a rising blow. Ranma raised her already elevated leg into the splits and twisted to the side.  
  
Chef twirled her whipping cane with her right hand while still facing away from the redhead, and stabbed down towards Ranma's planted foot where her slacks, being made for her taller form, were pooling on the ground. Ranma panicked and somewhat lost balance while bringing her other leg down, and Chef lashed out with a side thrust kick to the shorter woman's stomach. The redhead flew back into a rolling chair, which rolled back into a desk. The shorthaired woman twirled her weapon around while spinning, and then threw it like a javelin.  
  
Ranma-chan was doing the splits onto two desks over the chair, the staff piercing the chair, and about an inch of the floor under it. The redhead blinked a couple of times at the close call, and then looked up to see her opponent holding another whipping cane.  
  
Ranma swung her feet back onto the ground and reversed her grip on both her weapons as she approached the other woman cautiously. Once they were at arm's pace of each other, they began again.  
  
Chef swung her staff's left tip at Ranma from her middle hold grip. Ranma blocked it with her right hand weapon before it could connect with her left floating rib, and brought the left dagger gun and stabbed down to graze the front of her opponent diagonally to the Chef's left side. The whipping cane master twisted away to her left to avoid getting cut, while twisting her staff so it wouldn't get caught on her opponent. With her back turned, Chef tried to strike with the left tip again to Ranma's other side.  
  
Ranma turned to her right with her back against Chef's, blocking the blow heading now to her right side with her left dagger gun crossed down over her front. Ranma then turned back the other direction while jumping and lashed out with an outside left footed roundhouse kick. Chef ducked back away from the kick, and stabbed forward, in which Ranma countered by planting her left foot and bringing her right leg up to guard against the strike with her knee. Ranma then stomped forward with her right foot, and lashed out with her right hand, spinning her dagger like a saw blade at her opponent's face. Chef jumped quickly back to avoid getting her face cut.  
  
Ranma skip-bounced in a right side forward stance, following Chef as she calmly walked around to a better position while holding her staff at ease down to her side. She knew better than Lavender, staying in an extended lock-up with Ranma was folly, even if they presumed themselves better than their advisory. She was pretty sure that's how he got past her associate.  
  
"Ucchan, why can't we just be friends?" Ranma said with a sarcastic smirk. The neutral expression on 'Ucchan' never changed, though the room thermometer dropped by two degrees suddenly.  
  
"Geez, frigid." That got a rise out of Chef.  
  
The woman's face flashed a quick snarl before she struck her weapon down towards Ranma's left collarbone. The pony tailed woman parried the blow with her left weapon to her right side, then hooked her left dagger gun back to her left side while still in a reverse grip, attempting to slash graze her opponent in the abdomen. Chef turned her staff vertical, and caught the blade against its shaft. Ranma quickly re-sheathed her right dagger, and brought her right hand to the middle of the shaft. With her left dagger crossed under her right hand, Ranma began to twist the whipping cane clockwise.  
  
To keep from losing her weapon, Chef began to twist it in the same direction it was being twirled. Both fighters started to twirl it faster and faster for dominance of the whipping cane, until one of them faltered. Suddenly, Ranma quickly tossed her left dagger into the air to free up her left hand, and then gripped tightly against the shaft, causing it to stop immediately in horizontal position between the two. Ranma then kicked her opponent away with a push kick, and as Chef hit the ground, the redhead caught the dagger with her left hand, and sliced the staff in half.  
  
The short haired woman scooted back before getting back to her feet, and then lifted the lid of the desk next to her, and pulled out a folded whipping cane. She quickly snapped it straight, and eyed Ranma a bit more warily. The redhead blinked, and then lifted the lid of one of the desks next to her, and found two folded whipping canes.  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes, and closed the lid back down.  
_____________________________________  
  
Scarlet had her feet up on the desk while she was slumped back in her chair, watching the fight on the monitor, while watching a video on the other. Squeaky kept trying to crane his neck to watch the second monitor.  
  
"Don't worry, the bastard's coming to rescue you," Scarlet stated calmly, taking her eyes off the slightly intense fight in favor for the intense video, "Though I can't say why he'd go through all the effort for you". She already knew the outcome, Chef just looked like she was outclassed from the start. Scarlet's second associate wasn't as adept as her and Lavender when it came to up close combat, but she had a great deal of battle strategy as long as she kept her head. Like that would really be possible against Ranma.  
  
"Huh?" Squeaky said, not really paying attention.  
  
Scarlet backhanded him, "That's not for your eyes!"  
_____________________________________  
  
Ranma and Chef's weapons clashed like the rhythm of a machinegun, until Chef jumped back as it started to get too hot for her. She swung her staff in a wide horizontal arc, forcing the redhead to back flip onto a desk. The short haired woman pulled out three throwing knives, and launched them at her opponent, forcing the pony tailed girl to flip off the desk and over Chef.  
  
Ranma turned around just before the whipping staff connected with her abdomen, and evaded by leaping backwards over a desk in the splits, and landing seated in the chair that was at it. Chef started to aggress, and Ranma kicked the desk so it slid into her, knocking the wind out of the taller woman. Ranma then slid feet first under the desk, and then turned flat on her stomach. As soon as she completed the motion, she arced her back, and kicked the flat of her feet against her opponent's behind, causing her to tumble over the desk. Ranma then rolled up her stomach and chest into a handstand, and then kicked back to her feet in a sharp arc. Chef would not allow herself to be left open, as she stabbed at the other woman's right knee in it's soft part like she was holding a pool cue stick.  
  
"Ah!" The redhead cried out, turning around and stumbling onto her back. She kicked herself back to standing just before the staff connected with her temple. Chef herself planted her free hand onto the ground, and cart wheeled off the desk, being careful to evade the chair.  
  
Ranma leapt over the same desk with a jump kick, pushing her opponent backwards. Chef stumbled back into the wall, and landed against it. Ranma went into a barrage of kicks that forced the backed woman to do nothing but defend against.   
  
The redhead leapt into a spin, in which Chef ducked to evade a leaping spin kick. One never came, as Ranma instead spun in the air a second time, and landed in an iron broom sweep, knocking the shorthaired woman onto her butt. Chef looked up, and jolted at the foot that was heading for her face.  
  
When no impact came, Chef opened her eyes slowly, to see Ranma waving her toe in front of her face, while her leg was in full extension of the kick with her planted foot's toe pointing forward to the side a bit.  
  
"Nighty-night," Ranma-chan cheerfully said, before twisting on the ball of her planted foot, which allowed her to ram the heel of her raised leg into her defeated opponent's forehead, which in turn caused Chef's head to bounce off the painted brick wall she was against, sending her into dreamland.  
  
Ranma-chan checked the unconscious girl's pockets, feeling a bit dirty the way the wet clothes clinged to Chef as she searched her. Ranma found another envelope;  
  
"I didn't really think she had a chance either. Ninth floor,   
Room 914, we've got a lot to discuss, dear."  
  
Ranma crumpled the letter, and started for her final opponent. 


	11. Section 3 of Part 9

Ranma/ The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
  
  
  
Ranma stepped into the weight room, and saw Scarlet sitting at a desk watching her expectantly while doing one arm curls with a three hundred pound weight.  
  
"Ranma!" Squeaky called out, relieved to see his partner had come to save him.  
  
"Hey Squeaky, how goes?"  
  
Scarlet stood up, set down the weight she was using to do curls with, and smirked at Ranma before the other man could reply, "Most people would be impressed that you managed to get past Lavender, much less Chef and her both.  
  
"You don't sound like it."  
  
Scarlet shrugged, and walked from around the desk, used the remote control to shut off the monitors of the TV she was watching to keep herself occupied, and set it down, "I knew what you were probably capable of. Hot water?" Scarlet offered the coffee pot filled with steaming water.  
  
Ranma waved the offer off, getting an eyebrow raised by the other woman, "So, you think you still know me after all this time?" the redhead enquired guardedly.  
  
Scarlet motioned her head to the monitors, "Both of them are still breathing, you probably figured you owe us something, or felt too guilty about beating on them in the first place."  
  
Ranma snorted in indifference, "I know my profession well enough to kill only when needed to."  
  
"Right, it was option number one then," Scarlet said distastefully, "At least you have some honor left."  
  
"Hey, I don't owe you guys noth'n!"  
  
Scarlet turned to Squeaky, "Think she's a bit too adamant about that?"  
  
"Don't answer if you know what's good for you," Ranma growled, Squeaky intelligently kept his lips shut.  
  
"Ranma, Ranma, Ranma," the woman tsked in distaste, "still not wanting to take responsibility, still not wanting to hear the truth." Scarlet took up a Shotokan stance.  
  
Ranma took up a loosely guarding kempo stance, "I got tired of being blamed for everything even before I left Nerima." The redhead's eyes narrowed, "Don't back around here and pretend like I would miss it."  
  
Scarlet flexed her leading left fist, the sound of stretched leather being the only sound in the room. Ranma ground her braced foot harder into the floor by the ball of the foot. Each fighter looked into the other's eyes, daring one another to make the first move. Their breaths remained steady, their stances firm. Finally, Ranma's gaze flickered for a nanosecond over to Squeaky.  
  
"HAAAAAAA!!!!!!" Ranma twisted out of the way of her opponent's straight right cross, and then tilted back out of the way of the left crescent kick aimed for her head. The redhead then ducked forward when the other woman brought the same leg back in a hook kick, and then weaved around the right cross, left jab, right rabbit punch, left uppercut, left knee, right hook, and left hook.   
  
She had gotten faster, Ranma noted, and she's not telegraphing like Fed Ex. But with a smirk, the redhead realized she hadn't seemed to learn improvision, with her moves still remaining rigid, and she was nowhere near the redhead's speed. This was going to be way too easy after Shampoo and Uk...  
  
"Getting cocky, boy," Scarlet imitated from her last instructor during her barrage with a nasty grin.  
  
::WHAM!!!::  
  
"Ooooh," Squeaky winced in sympathy, as the redhead slammed into the wall behind her, leaving a spider web indenture.  
  
"Still... got that... brute strength," Ranma-chan stated, shaking the haze from her mind as she braced her feet back on the ground.  
  
Scarlet chuckled, with her right fist still raised, "I wouldn't take this too lightly, Ranma dear."  
  
"So, Pops trained you?" It made sense, she didn't notice until now that she was being set up to fall for a telling blow, like her father used to do. Scarlet's fighting style was a heavy mix of his father's form of anything goes, which Ranma defiantly had difficulty contending with, and the wonderful brutality that was sheer Akane.  
  
Scarlet nodded, "You left him pretty broken when you ran out on all of us."  
  
"Feh, he dug his own grave, I got tired of taking up the slack for the panda."  
  
"Are you that heartless?" Scarlet stated with slight incredulousness, as if she had been confirmed of a suspicion, but didn't truly want to believe it, "He really did love you, you know?"  
  
"Sure he did, all the scars from the cat fist just remind me of his affection."  
  
"When you left, Nodoka couldn't bring herself to kill him, but he was left without a family name," Scarlet smirked, "In a way, the pact between the families would have been fulfilled, if not for the fact that we were both ronin."  
  
"I guess we all have to take responsibility," Ranma stated grimly, as she went back into stance.  
  
Scarlet's eyes were veiled by her hair, though the redhead could imagine that they were flaring in anger, "BASTARD! IT'S *ALL* YOUR FAULT!" She charged after her opponent, and attacked with a series of kicks with her right leg.  
  
Ranma was careful this time, as she weaved through the kicks, and when an opening was spotted, she retaliated with her own kicks with her right leg. Scarlet guarded and dodged against the majority of the attacks, and the ones that slipped through were disregarded as irritants.  
  
The redhead pulled back to gain a breather, and Scarlet once again went on the offensive with a series of furious paced punches that almost seemed to predict where Ranma would be. The pony tailed woman leapt over a fierce right cross and turned in the air to her right. She then twisted back to her left, while lashing out with a left hook kick in the air, which her opponent was forced to duck.  
  
With the momentum shifting back to the redhead, she went into a flurry of kicks, alternating between legs. Many of the kicks were getting through Scarlet's guard, and making themselves slightly known.   
  
Ranma idly thought it was like fighting Ryoga back in the day, but she was now making some leeway. She went into a several series of flutter kicks that Scarlet started to back away from.  
  
With an enraged scream, the taller woman's guard opened up completely, and she reached and grabbed her opponent's shirt. Like a whip, Scarlet twisted back to her Right and snap-tossed Ranma into the other wall.  
  
Ranma peeled from the imprint she made, just in time to duck low as a weight bar with 400 pounds of weight set on it ran into the wall she was against, and kept going. The Redhead then twisted to the side, as Scarlet's fist demolished the rest of the wall that had been behind her, and then jumped away from the side thrust kick.  
  
Ranma jumped into the air, with her right leg raised high, intending to bring it down on Scarlet's arm and hopefully sprain it. Scarlet growled, as she twisted her arm so she caught the kick on the inside of her elbow, able to absorb it, and then shifted forward to catch her arm between Ranma's legs. She slammed the redhead down onto the ground, ramming her shoulders into the carpeted floor. Ranma gritted her teeth in pain, and twisted her whole body into an attempt to strain her opponent's arm.  
  
The pony tailed woman underestimated Scarlet's strength, as she pulled her arm back up, with Ranma still wrapped around it, and swung it backwards against another part of the wall that was still standing.  
  
Ranma let go, dazed, and slumped to the floor; she managed to gain the piece of mind to roll out of the way of a weight crashing down into where her head was. The redhead spun on her back with her leg out, tripping Scarlet, and then kicked out with the other leg to launch the woman away from her. The taller woman landed on one of the weight lifting benches, and caused it to collapse. The time she took to disentangle herself Ranma took to gain her bearings.  
  
Scarlet was beyond mad, seeing not much more than her namesake, as she charged again at Ranma, and began attacking even faster than before. The redhead found that she couldn't dodge all the attacks, and had to parry a good few of them, not wanting to meet them in a hard guard.  
  
Ranma was given an opening, when Scarlet went for another right cross. Ranma stepped to the outside of the punch, and shot her right hand over it and under her opponent's armpit. The redhead then swung her legs to Scarlet's right side and to her back, while pulling the taller woman's arm into an arm bar. To finish the grapple, Ranma planted her right leg's shin into the other woman's right knee, forcing her to kneel on it.  
  
"You see why I left now? I got sick of it all, getting the blame for everything like I was the soul cause of it. What happened the last you saw me was just the final straw." Ranma-chan growled, letting a bit of her own temper slip at once again being blamed.  
  
"Bullshit," Scarlet replied through gritted teeth, "You only owned up to something when your hand was caught deep in it." The woman used her enormous strength to pull her arm out of the wrench, brought her left arm back and grabbed the back of the pony tailed woman's head, and tossed her over her shoulder.  
  
Ranma landed on the desk Scarlet was sitting at, bumping her head on the remote control, and turning on the monitor again. Both Squeaky and Ranma paused to see what was on the screen.  
  
"Akane...?" Ranma enquired, not quite able to hold the amusement from her voice.  
  
Scarlet stopped in mid-stride, and her face turned crimson, "WHAT I DO WITH LAV-CHAN AND CHEF-CHAN IS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!!!"  
  
"Ever thought about selling this?" Squeaky asked, with some awe in his voice, "I would pay good money for a copy of that tape!"  
  
"I second that. Did you have to stretch before doing that, Akane?" Ranma studied the position Scarlet was in on the screen.  
  
"DIE!!!!!!" Ranma rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a whole exercise machine landing on the desk an crushing everything that was on it and the desk itself.  
  
"NO! NOT THE TV!!!!" Squeaky shouted too late.  
  
Ranma and Scarlet went back to trying to beat each other senseless, but this time Scarlet seemed to have a the upper hand. She was in a rage that Ranma was having trouble keeping up with, what with her mind being slightly groggy from being slammed around so many times.  
  
Scarlet went swung both her hands to Ranma's sides to trap him with a double chop and then trap her in a bear hug, but the redhead leapt back, and caught both hands in her own. Scarlet attempted a push kick, which Ranma leapt up over and above her opponent while still holding onto her arms. While her body was straight in the air with her feet almost touching the ceiling, Ranma twisted, causing Scarlet's arms to cross, and landed behind the other woman and trapping her arms crossed in front of her while she held onto her wrists from behind and her right knee against the taller woman's back for leverage.  
  
"So? I admit it, I was immature, but I've put that behind me. I don't need you or anybody else coming back and drudging up my past just to make my life miserable."  
  
"You selfish bastard! You think you deserve peace at the expense of everyone else?" Scarlet shouted. She struggled against the hold, finally raising her left leg up to ram her heel into the redhead's pubic arch. Ranma pulled her knee to the side of it, let go of Scarlet's wrists, and kicked her away with her right leg.  
  
Scarlet didn't go far, as she braced her left foot forward down into the floor, digging a furrow into it. Catching Ranma by surprise, she lashed out with a left rising back fist, which lifted the redhead off the floor and sent her flying back.  
  
Ranma landed on her back, and bounced onto her stomach before quickly pulling herself to her feet against the wall she was near. She stood up just in time for Akane's right foot to slam into her stomach, and pin her against the wall behind her.  
  
"You never understood, did you?" Scarlet stated in a low voice, "We ALL lost everything when you left." Her voice was somewhat pleading and she almost choked at what she said next, "I... regretted the way I treated you, but we loved you. You didn't need to leave"  
  
"A... little late for regrets," Ranma managed to grit out through the pain of her ribs being slowly crushed under the pressure.  
  
Scarlet's eyes hardened from behind her hair, "Yes, it is." She viciously ground her foot harder, causing the redhead to scream, "Now DIE under my boot like the damn cockroach you are."  
  
Ranma began to see spots before her eyes, despite them being closed. The combination of three furious fights, getting slammed around by Scarlet, and her current situation was causing her to black out. She knew it was game over if she lost it. In the back of her mind, she thought Akane had a point, but that didn't mean that Scarlet was the only victim in the ordeal.  
  
Focusing as much as possible, Ranma reached back, and strained to unsheathe her right dagger gun. Once it was free, she dragged it quickly across the boot that pinned her to the wall.  
  
Scarlet's eyes went wide, and she quickly pulled her leg back and scuttled to the ground. Ranma was hunched over, breathing heavily, and confused at Scarlet's reaction. She didn't even think she had cut all the way through the tough leather of the boot; much less manage anything that caused her to jolt back as she did. Ranma looked up, and blinked at the woman, as she was backed all the way to the other wall, holding her legs tightly in a fetal position.  
  
"Uh, hey," Ranma called out nervously, as she approached the other woman, "Are you okay?" Scarlet whimpered at Ranma's approach, and turned away with a frightened and shocked look in her eyes. Ranma-chan raised her eyebrows, and went over to her partner and cut him loose.  
  
"Man, she's out of it!" Squeaky stated the obvious, waving his hand in front of the woman's face, as she apparently did not seem to notice her.  
  
Ranma tried to hide her concern, "Is Richter back from vacation?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, got back this morning I think, had to cut it short."  
  
"Good," Ranma said, narrowing her eyes in anger, there was definite hell to pay.  
  
She stalked out of the room, with her partner following behind closely. A few seconds later, Squeaky returned to the room, and ejected the tape from the VCR. 


	12. Finale

Ranma/ The Big Hit  
'Easy Target'  
Finale  
  
  
  
"You get used to it after a while," Richter told the Korean woman sitting across from him in the lawn chair, "Though he doesn't change mentally. You couldn't find a nicer guy, really. More Glahwein?" The doors to his rooftop greenhouse slammed open, then fell from the hinges.  
  
"RICHTER!!!!!!!" Bellowed a furious looking redhead, with her dagger guns at her side. She stormed forward to her current focus of rage, with Squeaky meekly following behind her.  
  
"Ah, Ranma, we were just talking about you," the Austrian had been facing the doors when the pony tailed woman barged in. He understood why she was mad; he would take the blame for it.  
  
"YOU..." the redhead seethed, her hands flexing and unflexing as she stared at her boss, unnoticing of the company he had with him, "You had a contract put on me. You hired outside help on me. They would be my old fiancées, no less..." Ranma threw one of her dagger guns into the table, sticking just a few inches away from clearing it and landing into the unflappable Austrian man, "So, I would just like to let you know, I... *QUIT*!"  
  
"That's a shame, I have to say your current problems were a mistake on my part," Richter continued as if he were simply guilty for spilling wine on a carpet, "I thought my second would be trustworthy enough to take operations over while I partook a much needed hiatus with my children." He chuckled and took a sip from his steaming hot drink, "And you've wondered why I never took a vacation."  
  
Ranma pulled her face from the ground, "What?"  
  
"Fortunately my more loyal employees put a quick close to his ambition, I guess they missed informing you of the predicament."  
  
"Oh, that's okay then, I guess," Ranma replied scratching the back of her head in slight confusion, "But I still quit." She added, attempting to sound stern, and then blinked when she noticed the other woman staring at her, "Uh, what are you doing here, Kim?"  
  
"She's my guest in case you ended up doing something... rash," Richter stated, though he thought to himself that it would have been more effective if Ranma had noticed the woman offhand, "Understandable, I'll reimburse you for damages done to your home, car, and any medical bills."  
  
"That's good then," Ranma folded her arms smugly; she knew how to get what she wanted.  
  
"You'll also be given a healthy severance package, along with your standard pay for the next two paydays."  
  
"Uh, mighty generous of you," Ranma replied, blinking.  
  
"It's the least I can do." Richter stated.  
  
"Well," Ranma said, retrieving her weapon that was imbedded in the table.  
  
"Well it is," Richter replied with a nod.  
  
"I guess I'll, um, be heading out then. You, uh, coming Kim?" The Korean woman nodded dumbly.  
  
"Will you still be available for freelance?"  
  
"You have my number," Ranma commented, as she walked from the greenhouse.  
  
"We still up for training me on Tuesdays?"  
  
"Sure, you're coming along too far to have you quit now."  
  
"I'll see you then."  
  
"Later" Ranma replied cheerfully, walking out the door.  
  
Squeaky watched his partner walk away, and turned back to Richter, "Well, you know, heh, Iiiiiiii... I wasn't considering quitting your lovely employment, I mean your benefits package and all..." The Thai man shut up at the blank stare he was receiving, and fingered the tape in his pocket nervously, "Uh... heh, right." With that, he rushed out to join Ranma.  
  
Richter took a sip from his steaming beverage, and turned to the row of marigolds next to him. It was good to part with employees on a good note.  
___________________________________  
  
Chef entered the room, supporting Lavender on her shoulder, when they found their other partner still curled in fetal position and staring fearfully off into space.  
  
"Oh no, not again!" Chef grumbled in concern, dropping Lavender, which in turned caused the woman to fall flat on her face and aggravate her broken jaw.  
  
"Scarlet-chan, speak to me," Chef snapped a few times in front of the other woman's face, and went to searching her for any problems. She found a slash in Scarlet's right boot.  
  
The chestnut-haired woman looked up wide eyed at Scarlet, "He... he tried to cut your leg?" Lavender's head shot up with her eyes just as wide as her partner's. Someone tried to cut Scarlet's beautiful, unmarred, lovely, perfectly toned legs. Such a crime was unforgivable to the 7 Fiancées.  
  
"He will pay," Chef stated with the fury of an active Mount St. Helens, "By all we swear, we'll avenge this atrocity and follow him to the ends of the Earth until he pays." Chef stood solemnly with her fist clenched and tears of anger running like small rivers down her cheeks, as she stood over the cowering and totally out of it muscular and slightly butch woman.  
  
Lavender noticed the tape case that was in the ruins of the desk, and picked it up. Once again, her eyes covered seventy percent of her face, and she started humming as loud as she could to get Chef's attention.  
  
Finally the short haired woman became irritated from the other woman distracting her from a dramatic moment, "WHAT?" Lavender waved the empty tape case they all recognized. Despite her current inability to talk, the Chinese woman's question was loud and clear.  
  
"Where... is the tape?" Chef asked nervously, both her and Lavender blushed crimson. Scarlet continued to stare out into space.  
___________________________________  
  
Ranma pulled out of the building's parking garage and pulled into traffic. She had to admit, it went better than she thought it would have.  
  
Kim sat quietly in the passenger's seat, with one question cycling through her mind. Finally she had to ask before it tore her apart, even if she didn't want to hear the answer, "So you're leaving for America?"  
  
Ranma caught the nervousness in her best friend's voice, and considered something; her deception was up anyhow, might as well get on with her life.  
  
"Don't worry, if I disappear, I wouldn't think of doing it without you." Ranma-chan had to smile to herself, that was pretty smooth even she had to admit.  
  
Kim must have thought so too, as her eyes started watering up, and she launched herself at the smaller woman for a passionate kiss. Ranma blinked as she received, keeping one eye on the road.  
  
"HEY! KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD, YOU DAMN LESBIANS!" a random driver shouted.  
  
Kim and Ranma broke apart, blushing furiously.  
___________________________________  
  
Squeaky's eyes were wide with fear as the woman, Scarlet he recalled her referring to herself as, pinned him five feet off the ground against the wall... upside down.  
  
"DALLAS! I SWEAR THAT'S WHERE HE SAID HE WAS GOING!!!!"  
  
"Ranma, don't think you're escaping us that easily," all three women thought to themselves darkly.  
___________________________________  
  
"Well, and so ended my employment under Richter and Associates. I will miss the job, but some things you just have to stand for. Whether it ends for the best or the worst, the first thing you have to learn is move on in life. It's a shame Akane, Shampoo, Ukyo, and Pop didn't figure this out, but you make your own choices in life. I can happily say that the choices I'll probably end up making in the future, will be good ones."  
  
Ranma turned with a genuine smile to the Korean woman, who smiled back at the redhead. Two suitcases lay in the back seat of the Cobalt blue 2001 McLaren convertible as they drove along the side of the airport.  
___________________________________  
  
Credits:  
  
  
Actors (in order of Appearance):  
-Ranma Saotome.....................Ranma Saotome  
-Guards at door....................Reece Freeman  
...................................Justin Ball  
...................................Lau Fei  
...................................Emmit Rockston  
-Squeaky...........................Carl Bishop  
-Mr. Huei..........................Traci Mitchell  
-Yohiko Saotome....................Ranma Saotome  
-Richter Straumhaus................Burlis Hendrich  
-Kim Hyun..........................Joyce Soon Nue  
-Lavender..........................Xian Pu  
-Shoplifter in the mall............Chris Dodson  
-Richter's Second in Command.......Ichiro Nanakaze  
-Guards of Mansion.................Benton Clair  
...................................Darren Hong  
-Mr. Vinci.........................Sal Belladini  
-Martial artist....................Houston Chan  
-Richter's daughter................Mercades Vernon  
-Swordsman.........................Tatewake Kuno  
-Scarlet...........................Akane Tendou  
-Chef..............................Ukyo Kuonji  
-Four men in hall of Vault.........Mike Richards  
...................................Chris Ardor  
...................................Jhun Huay  
...................................Murray Nanakaze  
-Oncoming driver 1.................April Fisher  
-Oncoming Driver 2.................Darren Hong  
  
Stuntmen:  
-Ranma Saotome  
-Reece Freeman  
-Justin Ball  
-Lau Fei  
-Emmit Rockston  
-Benton Clair  
-Darren Hong  
-Mike Richards  
-Chris Ardor  
-Jhun Huay  
-Akane Tendou  
-Xian Pu  
-Ukyo Kuonji  
-Murray Nanakaze  
-Vince Dustin  
-Casey Vernon  
-Juliet Armstrong  
-Shenmen Hayashi  
-Mike Black  
-Max Onigawa  
-April Fisher  
-Ichiro Freely  
-Ilan Sorini  
-Robert Wong  
-Jeremy Keith  
-Stony Hicks  
-Mike Neivez  
-Mike Baker  
  
Stunt Coordinater:  
WFROSE  
  
Fight Choreography:  
WFROSE  
  
Costumes:  
WFROSE  
  
Scripting:  
WFROSE  
  
Original Concepts by Rumiko Takahashi and Ben Ramsey  
  
'Mo Flo Jack'(Mr. Drunk Mix)  
Performed by M-Flo  
Remixed by Mummy D  
  
'Let's Groove'  
Originally performed by Earth, Wind, and Fire  
Remixed by Tips & Tricks and Wisdom  
  
'Hot Limit'  
Performed by T.M. Revolution  
  
'Come Back to Me' (Taku's Remix)  
Performed by M-Flo  
Remixed by DJ Taku  
  
'How do you like Me Now'  
Performed by M-Flo  
  
'So You Say'  
Performed by M-Flo  
  
This has not been collaboration with any known studio or affiliation  
  
Special thanks to:  
-Rumiko Takahashi  
-Ben Ramsey  
-John Woo  
-Mike Soto  
-Steven Beaver  
-Getz  
-Rolo Fello  
-Mike Parker  
-Sheryl McClure  
-Olorin  
-Rez  
-Rhakal  
-Nabiki Tendou  
-And everyone else that supported this production  
  
This has been a WFROSE production  
___________________________________  
  
"I... see," Kim replied with a slight more understanding.  
  
"Yeah, I knew Squeaky couldn't keep his big mouth shut unless it was to save his own damn hide, so I told him we're going to lay low in America. I knew they wouldn't think I would be stupid enough to stay put."  
  
"It is kind of stupid."  
  
"Yup, it's perfect!" The redhead chirped, before she got a somber expression, "Are you sure you want me? I mean I come with a lot of baggage."  
  
"Your baggage isn't so heavy, you just need help carrying it."  
  
"You know about my curse."  
  
"I think it's actually pretty neat! And I get the best of both worlds!"  
  
"I can be a jerk sometimes."  
  
"And I'll be a bitch right back."  
  
Ranma-chan smiled at her new lover's comment, and then stood up to stretch, "It's been a long day, so I'm going to turn in, feel free to crash wherever you want. The Redhead trudged up to her room, finally feeling the total exhaustion of the events of the last couple of days. She stumbled into her room, and without removing her clothes, flopped onto her bed to quickly allow sleep to claim her.  
  
Light footsteps came up the hall shortly after, and trailed into the room. Ranma cracked one eye open, as she felt Kim's hands on her upper back.  
  
"If you don't mind, I kind of want to just sleep tonight." Kim pouted a bit, but lay beside the redhead with a slight smile.  
___________________________________  
  
17 Hours later  
  
"DON'T THINK YOU CAN HIDE FROM US, RANMA!!!"  
  
"Mommy, are they Charlie's Angels?" A little girl asked her parent among the crowded Dallas airport.  
  
"Now dear, just ignore the nice prostitutes."  
  
Dallas is a big city. 


	13. 'The Making of Easy Target' Part 1

The Making of 'Easy Target'  
  
  
  
  
Many fanfics of the past and present attempt to veer into action orientated content; whether it be martial arts action...  
  
  
(A redhead attempting a complex assortment of single legged kicks towards a taller woman with crimson highlights wearing a leather jacket. The kicks are blocked before the taller woman retaliates with her own barrage of single legged kicks in a weightroom)  
  
Bullet hailing shootouts...  
  
(A ponytailed man barely stays ahead of the bullet trail behind him, courtesy of a pale lavender haired woman wielding a customized Jericho 941)  
  
Intense car chases...  
  
(A cobalt blue McLaren 2001 convertable ramps the driver's side up a guard rail, causing it to sidewheelie and forcing a redhead woman to shift to sitting on the door of the driver's side; shooting behind her, while the woman with her looks upon nervously. They are being pursued by a humvee with a minigun on top)  
  
Or a combination of any of the above...  
  
(The redhead drops to the ground after smashing her foot into a man's neck, breaking it; spinning to the ground like a yo-yo, and as soon as she hits the ground, fires off a shot from her dagger guns. Switch to another scene of the ponytailed man fighting against the lavender haired woman. She pulls a gun with the barrel against his left shoulder, in which he pulls away just before the gun discharges.)  
  
But few actually attempt to, and even fewer successfully, manage to bring it to a level that is found in WFROSE's 'Easy Target'.  
  
'Easy Target' premise is the simple run-of-the-mill plot of a hitman framed for a job by his cohorts, with the John Woo brand of action found in such enjoyable films as 'Face Off' and Easy Target's inspiration 'The Big Hit'. Add that to well known and extraoridinarily popular manga/anime series 'Ranma 1/2', and you come across a formula so intense, you're fanning yourself after every chapter.  
  
The story for 'Easy Target' begins with a hitman with a past and a curse; living a triple life of Ranma Saotome, the elite hitman under employment of Richter Straumhaus, Ranma Saotome the always busy and dilligent husband, and Yohiko Saotome, the wife of Ranma Saotome and friend of Hyun Kim. Ranma and his/her partner 'Squeaky' are assigned on a mission that turns out to be a setup in the midst of a plot to overthrow Richter Straumhaus from his empire. There starts a non-stop, pulse-pounding, adrenaline-sweating action fest that'll keep you hanging on the edge of your seat till the very end.  
  
It was the brainchild of WFROSE, whose other works include the uplid  
fting and hope filled Ranma/Burning Rangers crossover 'Burning Sky', the extremely psychotic, yet humorous 'Ranma the Forever Man', and the ongoing series 'Ranma the Amorous, Over-sexed Nympho'. He had the idea while working on one of his current projects 'Ranma; Hard Core', to do a fic in the vein of the famous John Woo's works. We go to an interview with this esteemed and upcoming fanfic writer/directer for his more in depth explanations of why such an ambitious, yet compelling, project, while still in production.  
  
'So, WFROSE, are you pleased with the development of 'Easy Target'?'  
  
[WFROSE looks up from his half empty bottle of 'Canadian Mist'] Whadda hell d'you want?  
  
Uh, we just wanted to know how the progress of this fanfic was coming, if you will.  
  
WF: Go away, I'm busy!  
  
This interview was scheduled...  
  
WF: That's nice, I'm unscheduling it.  
  
Um, I'm afraid you can't...  
  
WF: SECURITY!!!!  
  
Perhaps we'll catch you at a later time. [Everyone pauses at the sound of a squeek from under the table, before WFROSE turns back to glare at the other two.]  
  
WF: Yeah, you do that...  
  
[Interviewer and camera man walk out of office, though the camera-man speaks up barely audible to the microphone] "He didn't seem that drunk to me, really."  
  
[Both interviewer and cameraman peak back in, to see WFROSE pulling away from his desk to allow Joyce Soon Nue from under it]  
  
Joyce: So, I'm going to be in the next one with Ranma?  
  
WF: Uh, sure, whatever, now get going before someone else gets nosy.  
  
[Joyce smiles, and sneaks out of the room, just barely missing seeing a fleeing cameraman and reporter. WFROSE smirks, and puts his feet on top of his desk, inspecting his highly polished wingtips] "Damn, she give a fine buff, I can see my reflection in them now!"  
_____________________________  
  
So, what was it like working in this fic, compared to others?  
  
Akane Tendou: Well, I'm not getting paid or anything, lousy fucking cheap-ass broke punk half bit second-rate wanna be Kami-be-damned fanfic writers..."  
  
I... see. It's good to know you're not bitter in the least.  
  
Tendou: Don't get me wrong, it's a good gig, I don't get many roles like this any more. I mean, I like playing the villian every once in a while, you know?  
  
The role suits you quite well.  
  
Tendou: Thanks I... [The woman goes silent, and her eyes narrow a fraction, before she shakes her head] Anyways, I'm playing a strong character, not some one-dimensional, hammer-weilding, airheaded, hyperdense, clueless bitch.  
  
Yes, I can see how playing a raging she-hulk bull-dyke would be a refreshing change of pace.  
  
Tendou: ....  
  
Did I tell you how well the role suits you?  
  
Tendou: [Frowns slightly] Yes, you did.  
  
Anyway, I believe you're doing all your own stunts and fight scenes?  
  
Tendou: [Cheerfully] Yup, with my martial arts background, I think it would be helpful on my resume to get a few break-neck fighting scenes under my belt. [Cut to scene with Ranma-chan performing flutter kicks, in which Scarlet reaches into to grab the redhead by her shirt, and toss her away.]  
  
Yes, speaking of which, you didn't find it degrading for Ranma to have to tone his, or her skill level down in order to make you look comparable, did you?  
  
Tendou: HEY! I can hold my own pretty well!  
  
Of course you can. [Smiles] Do you intend to be working harder in the future, to build your abilities up for upcoming fight scenes in other fanfics, I mean.  
  
Tendou: I work out plenty, I'll have ya know!  
  
I'm sorry, I didn't mean any offense by it.  
  
Tendou: [Sighs] I know, I know, sorry. Damn, you're as bad as Ranma, you know that?  
  
Speaking of Ranma, how has your relationship with your co-worker come along?  
  
Tendou: [Laughs bitterly] What 'relationship'? Seriously though, we're just friends now-a-days. We got over our parents' insistance for engagement, and we're both happy for it.  
  
So, it had nothing to do with the restraining order he supplied to each and every one of his former fiancees. I believe yours was for assault? How about rumors that he's gay?  
  
Tendou: You're treading on dangerous ground... [reaching for a blunt object around the couch she's lounging in, her hand comes in contact with a lamp]  
  
Okay, sorry. Changing the subject, what do you think of your role as 'Scarlet'?  
  
Tendou:... You're not going to make another comment about the role suiting me, are you?  
  
No, we're both well aware of that fact, now, about Scarlet.  
  
Tendou: [Taking deep breaths, while counting to herself before answering] I like her. She's a tragic character whose life ended up out of her hands. She let bitterness run her for so long, that once the opportunity for revenge came along, she took it and couldn't let it go.  
  
How do you mean?  
  
Tendou: [Smirks] You'll just have to see the fic to find that out. WFROSE has an extremely strict policy about letting too much be revealed about his storylines.  
  
Understandable, I had just spoken with him, but he was busy with your co-actress Joyce Soon.  
  
Tendou:.... I don't want to know.  
  
She was under his desk.  
  
Tendou: LALALALALA, I'M NOT LISTENING!!!!! [covering her ears]  
  
Okay, okay, back to the movie subject. Do you plan on taking any more roles like this in the future?  
  
Tendou: I don't see why not? I'll definatly be around if 'Scarlet' makes another appearance. [Winks]  
  
Good, I mean you made a really convincing butch lesbian there.  
  
Tendou: GET OUT!!!!! [Grabs lamp and hurls it. Both cameraman and interviewer quickly run from the trailor. Akane sighs, when they leave, and picks up the phone] Hmm? Yes? Can you send a man over for me? I need to assert my femeninity again.  
_____________________________  
  
Mr. Burlis Hendrich, it's a pleasure to meet you  
  
Burlis Hendrich: Ja, ist good meeting joo.  
  
....  
  
Hendrich: Was?  
  
Uh, I was just caught offguard by your accent, that's all. I mean you spoke impeccable...  
  
Hendrich: Ach, sorry, das ist on camera, I practice mein lines, ist der word 'frequent'?  
  
That's close enough. In the film you run a mob house I understand, that employes elite hitmen?  
  
Hendrich: Ja, Ich bin, uh, one crimeboss. [Laughs] Ich, er, I... ja, I, uh, what ist der word? maintnance?  
  
Maintain?  
  
Hendrich: Das mean to own?  
  
Then you mean 'rule'  
  
Hendrich: Ach, klair, Ich, I 'rule' deim mob house. Ist ein... fulfilling role, und in der flick mit Ranma Saotome... [Accent gets heavier, and interviewer starts tuning it out. A half hour later...] ...restaurieren heisst soviel wie wieder herstellen. Also wenn ein...  
  
Well, thank you for your time, we must be going now.  
_____________________________  
  
Ranma, Ranma Saotome, it's a pleasure to meet you...  
  
Ranma Saotome: Get that damn camera outta my face!  
  
Well, we have an interview with you on the...  
  
Saotome: [Taking a stance] Mouku...  
  
Hey, isn't that Ukyo Kuonji? We'll see you later then! [Cameraman and Interviewer desperately attempt to outrun the glowing projectile]  
_____________________________  
  
While the frantic action sets the pace, the fic's soundtrack sets the mood. That mood is supplied various artists, but the one that contributed the most was the popular Japanese R&B group 'M-Flo'. Based actually in New York and Los Angeles in the United States, their albums are circulated through out clubs all over Japan, even going as far to be featured in the Popular dancing game 'Dance Dance Revolution'. We're currently at an interview with two of the three members of M-Flo, Lisa and DJ Taku.  
  
So, how was it the tracks for 'Easy Target' were selected? You must feel honored to have your music used extensively for the score.  
  
Taku: We didn't select jack SHIT! Nobody gave them damn permission to use any of our properties, especially without paying us or our consent!  
  
Lisa: We're afraid due to legal circumstance that we cannot comment about this ordeal, but on the plus note, we're in the midst of creating a new album called... [Interviewer tunes out shameless self-promotion that Lisa is obviously reading from a script]  
_____________________________  
  
Ukyo Kuonji: I see you've spoken with Ranma [Smirks].  
  
Something like that, yes. [Dusts off ash from shoulder, while brushing the soot from his hair] Is he always this tempermental?  
  
Kuonji: Well, his psychiatrist suggested that he doesn't withold his emotions like he used to, kinda put him in a bad way.  
  
Ah, so he's venting years of fustration, brilliant. Anyhow, we're here about your role as 'Chef'. You don't have many speaking lines I'm told.  
  
Kuonji: 'Chef' is the silent type, one of those who don't speak unless they have something important to say. She's pretty tactical, and has a plan for everything. [Cut to the scene where Ranma-chan lifts uf a desk lid, to find two whipping canes folded inside it; it is apparent that every desk has at least two, to keep Chef in ready supply]  
  
I heard she's made to seem the weakest of the... I believe the group is called 'The Seven Fiancees'?  
  
Kuonji: I don't see how that is [Shrugs].   
  
Well, apparently she folds after taking one hit.  
  
Kuonji: [Grimaces] Anyhow, she's one of the primary legs of the group. Without her stratagy, they wouldn't get very far.  
  
And I believe there are 'three' primary legs of this band?  
  
Kuonji: You got it [Smiles]  
  
And how many members are their in this group, I ask?  
  
Kuonji: [Frowns]...  
  
Aside from that, how did the name 'Seven Fiancees' come about?  
  
Kuonji: [Smiles again] It was kind of an inside joke with the old Nerima Crew. You see, last we counted, Ranma had seven Fiancees.  
  
Seven? And he's actually bitter about it? I mean did they all look as lovely as you, Akane, and Shampoo?  
  
Kuonji: [Blushes] Well, I guess we all looked okay.  
  
Hmm, 'okay' is not the word! I mean you three look gorgeous!  
  
[Kuonji blushes deeper, and gives in to nervousness from flattery, and begins slapping the interviewer around]  
  
Kuonji: I'm so embarrased! How can you say such things on camera!  
  
Forgive me [Grimaces in pain], I'll ensure next time, for the sake of self preservation, to call you 'butt-ugly'.  
  
::CLANG!!!!::  
  
... I see you still carry that spatula around [groans].  
  
Kuonji: Comes in handy for pounding out lumpy irritations...  
  
I get the point, or should I say 'the flat end'? For your role, I noticed you had to wear breast bindings again.  
  
Kuonji: Huh?  
  
Your chest, from what I was told about you in the past, you actually were quite endowed. I understand it had to be painful to bind them down again.  
  
Kuonji: Oh, I didn't bind them.  
  
You didn't?  
  
Kuonji: Nope, had a breast reduction! [Beams happily]  
  
Pardon me?  
  
Kuonji: Well, they were a pain in the back, really.  
  
I... see. But, um, it looks as if you probably had quite a bit of it removed...  
  
Kuonji: [Smiles] All of it!  
  
.... You seem quite happy about this.  
  
Kuonji: Well, it's just one step further until the operation!  
  
...  
  
Kuonji: you're looking kinda pale, you okay?  
  
Um, so you don't intend to retain your role as 'Chef' in case you're needed for a sequal or spin-off?  
  
Kuonji: Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  
  
Uh, I thank you for your time, Mr. er, Ms. Kuonji. [Both cameraman and interviewer walk out, mumbling 'Damn shame']  
_____________________________  
  
Ms. Joyce Soon Nue, you're a surprise on this cast. You were a reletively unknown actress before this, I understand.  
  
Joyce Soon Nue: [Giggles in a bubbly way that anything sentient would find excrutiatingly grating] I used to star in soft porn before WFROSE approached me!  
  
... For some reason, I don't find that all that surprising.  
  
Soon: It's how David Ducoveny started out! At first, I didn't believe him, he came up to me and asked me, "Hey, lovely, how would you like to be in fanfics?'  
  
But obviously you accepted.  
  
Soon Nue: What's a 'fanfic'?  
  
[Sighs] Is there going to be any further point in talking with you?  
  
Soon Nue: Uhhhhhhh....  
  
Sorry for taking your time.  
  
Soon Nue: Wait, aren't you going to ask me about my role?  
  
...So you *are* capable of intelligent conversation!  
  
Soon Nue: No, I have satilite at home...  
  
...You know? That *could* be mistaken as 'wit'.  
  
Soon Nue: You mean like when that English man Winston Churchill told that woman at the formal gathering, when she said if he were her husband she would poison him, and he replied [deep baratone voice] 'Madam, if I were your husband, I would drink it!'  
  
...What...  
  
Cameraman: The hell....  
  
Uh, anyway, about your role as Kim. You fall in love with your co-acter/atress's character, not knowing that he was really a guy, I understand.  
  
Soon Nue: Ranma has a cute toosh!  
  
Um, the guy form or the girl form is it that you're referring to? Interviewer decides to confirm suspicion, and sighs at Soon's blank stare]  
  
Soon Nue: I wish I could talk to Ranma again...  
  
That's right, you also have a restraining order against you from him.  
  
Soon Nue: Actually, I like pulped orange juice better.  
  
WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FRO... n-never mind. [Both interviewer and cameraman look at each other in despair] Well, our time is up, it was a... an experience talking with you.  
  
Soon Nue: Bai bai! [both men walk out of the room, shaking their heads as if warding off intellectual osmosis]. *Sigh*, what gullible, oblivious twits these reporters tend to be [Soon Nue smirks, and then opens up a copy of works by Walter Whitman and other poets of romantism and Expressionism, while donning her bifocals.] 'Soft Porn' indeed...  
_____________________________  
  
::Knock knock::  
  
Ranma Saotome: [From behind door] I told you, Joyce, violate the restraining order again, and I'll have you arrested!  
  
Um... Note this is a guy's voice...  
  
Saotome:...  
  
Can we come in now?  
  
Saotome: I ain't open'n this door for ya, Kuno. I already told ya, I ain't like that!  
  
... We'll come back later... 


	14. 'The Making of Easy Target' Part 2

'The Making of Easy Target'  
Part 2  
  
  
  
The story behing 'Easy Target' is only half the appeal. What it exels in is the pulse-pounding thrill-a-minute action sequences that have you biting your nails at the intensity.  
  
Shampoo, I understand you helped somewhat with the choreography of the fight scenes.  
  
Shampoo: Well, I did put in a word or two to help the scenes flow better, but WFROSE is a talented choreographer who adapted things to each of our fighting styles well.  
  
From the fight scene between you and Ranma, I find that very easy to believe. You could just feel the aggression radiating from you two.  
  
Shampoo: When it comes to Ranma, anymosity is just something easy to come by.  
  
Um, I'm not quite sure what you mean there, though he does seem a bit...  
  
Shampoo: Of an Asshole? Of a Bastard? Of a Motherfucking, shit eating, cunt licking, back-stabbing, piss-poor excuse for a human being, much less a man?  
  
.... Your mastery over your non-native language is admirable, to say the least.  
  
Shampoo: Thank you.  
  
Anyhow, away from the subject of Saotome...  
  
Shampoo: Gladly  
  
... your weapons in the film were rather unique. That trench coat you wore was pretty fantastic; being able to cut through concrete and all.  
  
Shampoo: WFROSE felt that I needed a weapon that could easily flow with my Amazonian Kung Fu style, while being fashionably stylish. With those qualifications, he came up with the trenchcoat. And to add to the toughgirl facade, gave me dual Jerichos for their weight and durability.  
  
Ah, I don't have much knowlege of guns, so I'll take your word for it. About Lavender, what can you tell us about her?  
  
Shampoo: Well, she's a clothes horse, strong willed, determined, but honorable. She stand by her allies like fellow warriors should. She's also light...  
  
Headed?"  
  
Shampoo: ... hearted [glares]. Only a few things can get to her.  
  
Well, space cadets usually fly pretty high. You played the role pretty well.  
  
Shampoo: [Smiles] Thank you.  
  
[Pouts, and then grumbles about Shampoo not being as fun as Akane was] Was WFROSE rather demanding of you guys? Those scenes were rather exorbant.  
  
Shampoo: He asked nothing more than what we were able to give. In fact, a couple of times he asked us to slow down, so the action was better viewed by general audiences. Things tended to progress to our natural paces at times.  
  
Did Ranma have any input towards the action scenes?  
  
Shampoo: [Grumbles] yeah, he did have a lot to say, though I think everyone tended to ignore him most of the time.  
  
What is the source of your dislike towards your co-worker, anyhow? I was aware that you two used to be at least friends.  
  
Shampoo: If having your friends arrested on the spot is a way of showing endearment, than I can do without his 'friendship'.  
  
Ah, I recall hearing about that. I would have thought after he caught you sleeping in his bed with him the seventeenth time that you would have learned your lesson. He did have that restraining order on you, after all.  
  
Shampoo: [Narrows eyes] This interview is now over.  
  
You people love breeching contracts, don't you? Fine, let's go.  
_____________________________________________  
  
Both the interviewer and the cameraman, on there way to their next destination, walked by Akane's trailor that was rocking heavily. A masculine scream sounded, causing both men to rush to the uncurtained window to see what was happening.  
  
"Are you getting this on tape? Are you getting this?" The interviewer shouted with a manic grin on his face. The cameraman was smiling just as heartily, as he kept filming. The cameraman tracked something to the exit of the trailor, and from it burst a naked man with a healthy build.  
  
"HELP! SHE'S LEECHING MY WILL TO LIVE!!!!!" Before the man could get anywhere, a lamp slammed into the back of his head, and shattered, knocking him unconcious.  
  
"Hey! I still have two more hours paid up on you!" Akane shouted, as she stormed out of her trailor, only clad in a blanket. She grabbed the sleeping man by the arm, and unceremoniously dragged him up the stairs and back inside.  
  
"Poor guy...." The cameraman only nodded in reply.  
_____________________________________________  
  
Despite the tightly crafted gun, car, and fight scenes, there wasn't a loss for accidents to occur. We have some footage of the bloopers that took place during the filming...  
______________________  
  
Ranma leaned back as the music started over his headset, and played over the building's intercom system, and tumbled backwards off the roof.  
  
"What... the?" The two befuddled guards posted at the door looked around in puzzlement, and then jolted at the sight of a man with a braided ponytail landing... and then slipping onto his back.  
  
The two guardsmen quickly rushed to Ranma, making sure he was okay.  
______________________  
  
"Well, at least let me get a kick in when you're done with him," Kim replied earnestly, Ranma-chan just shrugged as the thief approached her.  
  
Ranma calmly turned away, and brought her leg up into an ax kick. The young man, intending to bowl the shorter woman over, ended up succeeding.  
  
The cast on stage burst out laughing, as Ranma-chan pulled her face off the floor to glare aht the nervous looking young man.  
______________________  
  
"Well, at least let me get a kick in when you're done with him," Kim replied earnestly, Ranma-chan just shrugged as the thief approached her.  
  
Ranma calmly turned away, and brought her leg up into an ax kick. The redhead blinked, when she heard a loud 'KIA' behind her, and turned to find Joyce doing cheezy and fake looking kung-fu kicks, while the young man acted in overexadduration with the hits, while making over dramatic sound effects. Ranma put her face into her hand, and started chuckling, as the rest of the cast started to laugh.  
______________________  
  
"These?" Kim pulled out a couple of clips for display, which promptly slipped from her hands. The clips bounced off the back trunk door of the car, and straight towards the humvee, into Shampoo's face.  
  
Joyce started to exclaim nervously, as Ukyo checked the unconcious woman with Akane looking up in concern, while Ranma sat back into her seat with a rather smug expression.  
______________________  
  
  
The McLaren fell back flat, causing Ranma to readjust her sitting. Looking up, she noted the top of the cliff side they were driving next to was littered with trees. The redhead leaned back over the windshield and onto the hood, her legs still dangling next to the steering wheel. Unfortunatly, her legs weren't that secure, and ended up rolling off the hood of the car.  
  
Joyce screamed, as the car bucked from running over a bump with an audible 'BADUMP-BUMP', and stopped the car to get out and check the other actress, with Ukyo and Akane doing the same. Shampoo wiped the tears of laughter from her face.  
______________________  
  
The pony tailed woman underestimated Scarlet's strength, as she pulled her arm back up, with Ranma still wrapped around it, and swung it backwards against another part of the wall that was still standing.  
  
"CUT!" Shouted WFROSE, "Ranma wasn't grimacing enough, let's try that again."  
  
Ranma sighed, and then got back into position for another take.  
______________________  
  
The pony tailed woman underestimated Scarlet's strength, as she pulled her arm back up, with Ranma still wrapped around it, and swung it backwards against another part of the wall that was still standing.  
  
"CUT!" WFROSE shouted, and then sighed, "Akane, please put a bit more effort into it, you're not slapping with a wet noodle here!"  
  
"What the Hell?" Ranma shouted, "She fucking nearly snapped my spine with that blow!"  
  
WFROSE ignored the pigtailed woman, and motioned everyone to get into position for another take.  
______________________  
  
The pony tailed woman underestimated Scarlet's strength, as she pulled her arm back up, with Ranma still wrapped around it, and swung it backwards against another part of the wall that was still standing.  
  
"CUT!" WFROSE shouted, extremely irritated, "I'm TRYING to make a Fanfic here, and you people WILL NOT cooperate!!!"  
  
"What did we do this time?" Ranma growled, barely holding her temper in check.  
  
"Just... just don't fuck it up this time!" WFROSE hissed, then returned to his seat and motioned everyone to get into position for yet another take.  
______________________  
  
The pony tailed woman underestimated Scarlet's strength, as she pulled her arm back up, with Ranma still wrapped around it, and swung it backwards against another part of the wall that was still standing.  
  
Akane and Ranma paused, and then turned to look at WFROSE.  
  
"What, nothing wrong this time?" Akane asked with a puzzled voice. The expression on Ranma-chan's face showed the same bewilderment.  
  
WFROSE just stared blankly back at the two, "Uh, nope, you only paid me for ten takes, Akane."  
  
Ranma-chan glared daggers at her co-worker, who was scratching the back of her head with a nervous chuckle.  
  
"Wish I had thought of that," Shampoo grumbled from her seat.  
_____________________________________________  
  
Ranma Saotome, it's nice that you are finally able to meet with us.  
  
Ranma Saotome: Whatever, let's hurry this up, alright?  
  
Understood, your time is more valuable than any of ours.  
  
Ranma: Good you understand.  
  
Anyhow, compared to all the trillion or so fanfics, not to mention original canon and Anime series you've starred in, what makes 'Easy Target' different from the rest?  
  
Ranma: [Rolls eyes] Nothing.  
  
Huh? You find nothing unique about this project?  
  
Ranma: Why should I? I mean sure I use guns this time, yeah I'm killing bad guys, yeah I'm going up against my three fiancees, yeah I'm doing some slick action scenes, yeah I'm...  
  
Okay, okay, with those exeptions, there's not much going for it, I understand. Are you sure you're not just being overly critical over this, like looking for a complete and total never-before-seen idea that ends all? I mean like I said, there are a trillion or so fics out there.  
  
Ranma: Come on, this is just another project by a fanboy among millions, how original can it be? Just once I'd like to be in something serious, you know?  
  
There was Ranma and Akane; A love Story....  
  
Ranma: That doesn't count, it's not even finished yet! The guy hasn't even returned my calls!  
  
Anyways, I would at least presume it was a nice change of pace for you.  
  
Ranma: Well, I guess, I got pretty tired of those Dragonball Z ripp-off fight scenes.  
  
Amen to that. So, how do you get along with your co-workers on the set?  
  
Ranma: [Narrows eyes] what do you mean?  
  
Well, I mean how is working along with them? Does tension tend to run high on the set?  
  
Ranma: What business is it of yours?  
  
Well, a great deal of it, actually. That's the point of all this.  
  
Ranma: Well, I ain't got much to say about that group of harpies, so let's change the subject.  
  
Harpies? I was referring to all your co-workers, just not the girls.  
  
Ranma: [Growls] Just what are you trying ta say?  
  
[Raises eyebrow] Well, if that's a touchy subject for you, we'll just move on. From the looks of things, you had to do some of your most exertive stunts as a woman, is this true?  
  
Ranma: [Pauses with a wide-eyed stare, and then whispers] You're com'n onto my female side, aren't ya?  
  
Uh, not that we're aware of.  
  
Ranma: [Scoots backwards in seat] So you're gay? I ain't like that!  
  
Are we having a conversation that I missed somewhere?  
  
Ranma: Get OUTTA HERE YOU PERVS!!!!  
  
At the fear of another Mouku Takabisha, the interviewer and cameraman made their leave. Ranma slumps back in his chair, and then pulls out his cell phone and presses the speed dial #1  
  
Ranma: Yeah, it's me again. I want you to find whoever it was that conducted this damn 'Making of' fic, and have a restraining order put on them! I don't care if it's ruining the credibility of the previous ones, I don't want the two jerks that were just in here near me ever again! Are we clear? Good!  
_____________________________________________  
  
::KNOCK NOCK::  
  
Carl Bishop: [from inside] Come in  
  
Hello, Carl Biship, we came to talk to you about your role as Squeaky in... the... [Spots what's on the TV that has Carl's attention] HOLY SHIT!!!! THAT TAPE'S REAL?!?!?  
  
Carl: Hush! They don't know about it! Look, It's getting to the best part!  
  
The interview was never held due to a lengthy distraction.  
_____________________________________________  
  
Well, that wraps up our documentary over the making of 'Easy Target'. By the time you've read this, the fanfic should be completed and out for viewing. In the meantime, we'll leave you with a taste of the follow-up project in the works by WFROSE; a prequel to 'Easy Target'. Enjoy.  
_____________________________________________  
_____________________________________________  
_____________________________________________  
  
Ranma rolled, while tucking his trenchcoat around him to protect himself from the glass shards from the window he just busted through. Before any of the armed men in the large hall could gain their bearings, the braided ponytailed man drew two berettas, and opened fire. In the first barrage, Ranma dropped nine men, all while diving under a table, and kicking it over to provide cover.  
  
Bullets began to annialate the fiberboard table, forcing Ranma to dash from behind it, opening fire in his strafe. The twenty remaining men kept their gunfire on the invader, forcing him to barely evade the hail of lead death raining vertically at him. In a gravity defying move, Ranma started to run up the curved wall of the circular hall, while concentrating on taking out the ones who seemed to have the most solid aim on him.  
  
Before the gunfire became too concentrated on him. Ranma pushed away from the wall and into the air. As he soared over the remaining men, Ranma fired again, and found himself out of bullets. The ponytailed man changed the grip on his guns to the barrel after releasing the clips slightly, and launched the spent clips at the crowd, connecting with two gunmen.  
  
Ranma didn't bother to reload his guns, instead holstering them, and running at the gathered crowed of frantic men, while weaving between bullets. Ranma dropped into a slide, taking out two men, then rolled and thrust both feet into the jaw of another man. Ranma picked up the dropped gun, and pointed at another guard at point blank.   
  
After dealing with the last man, Ranma leapt up into a right spin kick, that caught an approaching man in the head, causing his neck to twist farther than capable. Ranma continued the kick around, and turned it into a thrust kick that sent another guy flying. While still in the air, Ranma brought up his left leg, and performed another side kick to one other man to keep him away, and finally landed in a low right sweep that took out two other men.  
  
Ranma quickly stood up, and delivered a left back fist to yet another aggressor, and gave a push kick to the groin to another one standing in front of him. Ranma then quickly leaned to his side, allowing a bullet to fly right by his head, and strike the man behind him.  
  
The ponytailed man bent back, evading a punch from one man, and delivered a snap kick that pushed his nose into his brain. As the man fell back, Ranma gave him a thrust kick in the gut, sending him into another group of men. Once they were delt with, another man tried to attack Ranma from the side, but a well place elbow into his back sent him stumbling backwards. Before he got too far, Ranma jumped up, and hooked his right leg around the guy's neck, while driving his left foot's heel into the guy's abdomen and causing him to double over. Once in position, Ranma brought the gun to the guy's temple.  
  
Seven more men rushed at Ranma, and the ponytailed man rolled backwards, and kicked the man he had just killed into them. Continuing his roll, Ranma picked up two more guns, and came to kneeling. Without pause, Ranma emptied the clips of the glocks in his hands on the oncoming crowd. He ran out of bullets, just as they all dogpiled him..  
  
The men rolled off of the downed man, only to find it one of their own, with his neck broken, and holding a mechanical dolly. The doll waved its arm as if saying bye, and pinned to it, was a note:  
  
From Salvador, with love.  
  
Ranma was almost to the window, before the explosion occurred. With a gasp, he was thrown through it unceremoniously by the force, and out into the yard where several dead men lay. His body came to a stop next to a somewhat tall man with red hair and a stock build. In one hand he held a dagger with a gun built in, and was using it to clean his nails.  
  
"First of all, you were only supposed to get in there, plant the bomb, and get out. Second, all that grandstanding *should* have gotten you killed. Third, get rid of that trench coat, you look rediculous with it."  
  
Ranma turned to his partner in his sitting postition, and chuckled nervously while scratching the back of his head.  
  
  
Ranma  
Easy Target 2  
'Dirty Shot' 


End file.
